We've all got one nearby somewhere. The shop that isn't a Co-op, Tesco express or mini Sainsbury's that has loads of random things, price tags handwritten on luminous cardboard stars and a slightly worn out, 80s feel about them.
Despite them having the same stuff - chocolate for example - it's never quite the same. For example, the Milkybar I've just had from there ( £1.49 £1.29, ) wasn't quite right even though it was in date.
Where does their stuff come from? Is there a "seconds so close you can barely tell the difference" wholesaler?
Do you have a Proper Job shop near you ? You can buy Duracell batteries for much less than anywhere else , they have a long date and look like the " real thing " 🤔
You should ask Robert Jenrick, I reckon he'd know.
Possibly export market products made to a different recipe?
IIRC a lot of chocolate destined for the European market is made to a recipe with a higher melting point to avoid them going soft on supermarket shelves. So things like milkybars seem crispier in our cooler climate.
Doesn't explain how it falls of the back of a lorry leaving slough and ends up in discount shops though.
Our local kebab van has wired foreign pop, I always get the strawberry stuff when he has it because it's amazing when served ice cold with gin!
I expect the people who supply them with their fake fags, dodgy vapes, prescription meds, coke and weed chuck the milkybars in for free.
the milkybars in for free
The Milkybars are on me!! Shirley?
There is a huge grey market out there. Some stock is bulk bought from liquidation sales at home and abroad, some bought in from abroad as it’s cheaper, some is plain old counterfeit.
If you look at a bottle of YSL perfume (among others) you will see a tiny QR code. This is so they can track where it came from and if YSL find it in an unauthorised shop they can trace where they got it from then stop supplying that seller. The rep I know has to buy any examples of these from the dodgy shop in order to find the source. In Ireland we have FMD (falsified medicine directive) where every packet of prescription medication is scanned for traceability and prevent grey market/counterfeit medication entering the supply chain as it was becoming an issue. I know of one shoplifter who stole over 6 figures of stock from one high street chain that was being sold on through dodgy shops. God only know where some of the less ‘main stream” shops get some of their stock from, it’s certainly not always the local cash and carry.
You can buy Duracell batteries for much less than anywhere else , they have a long date and look like the " real thing "
Look out for the word 'Simply' on Duracell batteries - as in 'Simply Duracell' rather 'Duracell Plus'- particulary ones that seem to be quite cheap. When Duracell makes claims in their marketing that their batteries are 'longer lasting' they're not making comparisons to other makes of battery - their bench mark for the claim is their own 'Simply Duracell' batteries which are packaged to look as much like their regular range as possible but are in fact a product they make and sell specifically to perform more poorly to give a benchmark to the making bold claims about being longer lasting against
In practice all Duracell batteries compare badly to other makes, both in terms of value and out and out longevity. Supermarket own brand ones will usually outperform them - I think Ikea own brand are amongst the best performing
Bookers.
This is the hook that a lot of independent retailers are on - they're competing with the big supermarkets - but one of them, Tesco, owns Bookers. And they've been gradually reducing the choice and quality of what those businesses are able to buy.
If you see 'Jacks' branded goods in the shop thats a clue they're supplied by Bookers. Jacks was brand Tesco came up with post Brexit thinking they could create a union-jack draped chain of low cost supermarkets to challenge Lidl/Aldi by appealing xenophobes /patriots. Never really took off though so the brand just gets used as a way of selling Tesco own brand goods through independents without putting the Tesco name on them.
We set up an account with Makro, a cash-and-carry chain, to buy shop essentials in bulk like toilet rolls, cleaning products, etc., and realised it was basically where all the local corner shops went to buy their stuff. All the "Happy Shopper" stuff is there, you need a registered business to set up an account. They have their own nearly-out-of-date section, there are some real bargains to be had there but of course if you're going to buy 200 Milkybars that only have a week's shelf life left you either have to be able to sell them quickly - or hope your customers won't notice.
This article might explain some of it:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/mar/31/stolen-guinness-cheese-crime-cargo-theft-crisis-mike-dawber
The Milkybars are on me!! Shirley?
Sad news at the Nestle factory today when a member of staff was seriously injured when a pallet of chocolate fell more than 50 feet and crushed him underneath.
He tried in vain to attract attention but every time he shouted "The milky bars are on me" everyone cheered!
I worked for Coca-Cola around 20 years ago, We had a huge problem with people bringing in drinks from the EU. Problem for us as we didn't make money on product made elsewhere. Problem for some consumers as ingredients can vary by country so taste is different and allergens list may be different.
We have a work account at Bookers that we use to stock the tuck shop with pop, crisps and chocolate. It's become so expensive that even selling at cost is more than people are willing to pay. Much cheaper to buy things on offer at the supermarket.
My nearest supermarket is Home Bargain.
Yes, most of it is stuff near the use by date or random small amounts of a product. But I do wonder if some of it has been for export and for some unsold reason it stays or gets imported into the UK.
Lots of small retailers buy from Nisa as they aren't tied to exclusivity deals
Look out for the word 'Simply' on Duracell batteries - as in 'Simply Duracell' rather 'Duracell Plus'- particulary ones that seem to be quite cheap. When Duracell makes claims in their marketing that their batteries are 'longer lasting' they're not making comparisons to other makes of battery - their bench mark for the claim is their own 'Simply Duracell' batteries which are packaged to look as much like their regular range as possible but are in fact a product they make and sell specifically to perform more poorly to give a benchmark to the making bold claims about being longer lasting against
In practice all Duracell batteries compare badly to other makes, both in terms of value and out and out longevity. Supermarket own brand ones will usually outperform them - I think Ikea own brand are amongst the best performing
Whilst I don't doubt your conclusion - that Duracell are massively overpriced/overrated/overmarketed - I'd like to see a link to a report backing up the rest of this statement if you have one?
Not quite the same, but there's something to be said for the food industry's staff shops where a lot of the rejects end up.
My Dad worked for Trebor and then United Biscuits when i was a kid. I blame him squarely for my sweet tooth ... although maybe it's his sweet tooth that led him to work for those companies.
Every factory had a staff shop, and every staff shop seemed to trade with other staff shops rather than just sell their own stuff. And they were cheap. We'd get big catering sized mud cakes, 1kg bags of assorted chocolates, all kinds of chocolate bars by the box, biscuits, trays of Lucozade, frozen pizzas etc, I remember one summer we had a chest freezer full of 4 litre tubs of two flavours of really nice ice cream - pistachio and strawberry. When I was a student he bought us a cheap small freezer so that when he visited he could load it up for us.
