ICELAND

[EMM]

The store in albufeira is fortunately not Iceland Frozen Foods although unfortunately it does sell a lot of their products.
It is however still a Brit Store selling mainly Brit products aimed at a Brit clientele
I wonder how this same " Brit "clientele would havereacted to a Asian supermarket opening in their UK highstreet with a product range aimed at an Asian/Muslim clientele having used an advertising campaign almost exclusively in Urdu or Hindi.
You can just imagine the D Mail and D Express headlines.

[martin]

well lets see we have aldi and lidl, their stores are full of german products, we also have in the algarve - if you have travelled around - lots of shops aimed at russian speaking people, there is also a south african butcher for the south africans, loads of chinese shops and shops with indian food items

so what your saying is that a british shop selling uk items is not allowed?'

[cereza]

I wonder how this same " Brit "clientele would havereacted to a Asian supermarket opening in their UK highstreet with a product range aimed at an Asian/Muslim clientele having used an advertising campaign almost exclusively in Urdu or Hindi.
You can just imagine the D Mail and D Express headlines.

There are plenty of those already EMM and more recently a lot of Polish mini markets have sprung up in certain areas with all the signs in Polish. Like it or not it's all part of our multicultural society and in the end it comes down to personal choice and market forces. You don't like the idea but many others do - it's not going to affect your life is it?

[EMM]

Where are these ethnic based shops you describe ?

I do not disagree about Aldi etc but do they advertise it would seem exclusively in german ,to germans, promoting german products.
Are the other shops you describe so ethnically focused as Overseas or do they just have a wider range of products?
There are Polish products in Tesco,s but that does not make it a Polish shop.
Why do so many of the the English in the Algarve apparently feel such a need for a shop like Overseas.??

One thing is clear the local managements of Continente. Jumbo/Intermarche have underestimated the Brits need for the familiar around them and missed a golden business opportunity.

[e-richard]

Try Southall, Middx (little India) and see if you can find any English shops.
Try Green Lanes, Hackney and find non-Turkish establishments.
There are lots of Ethnic areas all over the UK, and actually they are fascinating places for the Brits to shop in.

[TomUK]

I wonder how this same " Brit "clientele would haver reacted to a Asian supermarket opening in their UK highstreet with a product range aimed at an Asian/Muslim clientele

You really should investigate more EMM before making sweeping statements. I live in Greater Manchester which, like most large UK cities, has a sizeable Muslim and Chinese population. Asian supermarkets and Chinese cash and carry emporiums are all over the place. Not in back streets, but on major roads in many areas of the city. Obviously they mainly attract clientele from their own communities, but they welcome customers of all nationalities. After all, they are in business and the more customers of any persuasion that they attract can only be good for them. They are certainly not exclusively serving their own folks. There are also quite a few Polish food shops (Polski Skleps) springing up. Once again not exclusively for Poles. The staff usually speak English. I personally enjoy the mix of the different cultures we now have.
I live about 20 minutes drive from Manchester's celebrated 'Curry Mile' in the Rusholme area of the city. I visit regularly a large Asian supermarket there to have a browse through the fascinating items on view, and usually leave with a couple of plastic bags full of 'goodies'. Same goes for the WingYip Chinese supermarket close to the city centre. Once again, a wonderful selection of food products and fresh meat, fruit and veg. They also have a great restaurant upstairs if you're feeling peckish. Not all the foodstuffs in these places are in the healthy eating category, but show me a supermarket where they are!
Having a walk around these places is an interesting insight into the sort of stuff that they enjoy themselves. I'm not just talking spring rolls and Madras curry here, but unusual fruit and vegetables which make an interesting change from our standard British fruit and veg. Enjoying food from other cultures is fun, which is why, as we enjoy fish, we always look forward to our trips to Portugal.

[TomUK]

e-richard:- As I was typing my above post, you posted in a much more concise way, the point I was making.

[EMM]

I am from Southall so I do not need anyone telling me about the influx of ethnic shops.
But there is one big difference between these " city " area shops and our import from the Costas.
I do not see the Algarve Brits living in densely populated " ghetto " type city communities with little or no contact with the wider community , maybe I am wrong .
This thread is about the Algarve not inner city UK.
Are not many of us here full or part time because we do not want to live in the UK ??

Overseas es will be the winners and the local shops and suppliers the loosers. Just as has happened in so many UK towns and cities when cost becomes more important than quality and convenience.

[cereza]

But there is one big difference between these " city " area shops and our import from the Costas.
I do not see the Algarve Brits living in densely populated " ghetto " type city communities with little or no contact with the wider community , maybe I am wrong .
.

Yes I would say you are
The Polish immigrants as an example are working within the community and are welcomed (especially the plumbers ) but they have their own peculiar tastes and they can't get all of it in places such as Tesco therefore these mini markets have sprung up and are doing very well. Plus the Polish do not live in ghettos as you call them!

[cereza]

Double entry

[Bruce Wallis]

A friend of ours described shopping in the Guia, Iceland, as being a slightly surreal experience.

I know what she means.

On one level, if you are over here, and pine for a British supermarket, and all things British, then you may well feel that you have died and gone to heaven. Even English checkout assistants!!

It's an odd mix of good quality stuff, like Waitrose, and the very cheapest, Poundshop and local Nisa, merchandise, marketed as Heritage.

Some stuff quite cheap, about a euro mark up on UK prices, other stuff, like Lurpack butter costing over 6 euros a 500 gram container, about 100% mark up.

If you are desperate to live out here, as if in the UK....you could do so, and I guess for an average mark up of about 30% on UK prices.

The question I have to ask is why would you???

If you are that desperate to live on UK fayre....why live out here?

When we had bought one or 2 naughties....like some hummous, and a pork pie, we carried on into Guia shopping, and did our food shop.....at Continente.

I'm sure Iceland in Guia, will do well. I'm sure we will go back for the occasional "naughty", but we really enjoy our life out here, and a large part of that is the local produce, shopping in the various local shops, markets and supermarkets, and eating the food that is good, tasty and plentiful in the Algarve.

But my friend is right.....shopping in Iceland, seemed slightly surreal.

[roy4eyes]

Why not leave EMM to live on his boring but undoubtedly healthy, nutricious and local diet. If the poor chap wants to be holier than thou on this matter, then that is his right.

I feel Iceland is utilising the gap in the market for those of us who only left Britain for the better climate but like to have available some familiar comfort foods, and which hopefully will bring down costs in local supermarkets in the same way that the service station at Pau de Azucar has brought down car fuel prices in neighbouring service stations.

For myself, although in general I try to eat a fairly healthy diet, I do from time to time like chocolate biscuits (full of sugar which rot my teeth and give me diabetes), curries (full of ghee - melted butter) and fish and chips (which clog up my arteries with cholesterol) or chinese (full of monosodium glycerate which raises my blood pressure) and particularly fresh pork pies and sausages full of leftover pig bits (yuk delightful) .


In spite of this I have reached the grand old age of three score years and ten without too much trouble.

What am I doing wrong ?

[bruce]

Why not leave EMM to live on his boring but undoubtedly healthy, nutricious and local diet. If the poor chap wants to be holier than thou on this matter, then that is his right.

I feel Iceland is utilising the gap in the market for those of us who only left Britain for the better climate but like to have available some familiar comfort foods, and which hopefully will bring down costs in local supermarkets in the same way that the service station at Pau de Azucar has brought down car fuel prices in neighbouring service stations.

For myself, although in general I try to eat a fairly healthy diet, I do from time to time like chocolate biscuits (full of sugar which rot my teeth and give me diabetes), curries (full of ghee - melted butter) and fish and chips (which clog up my arteries with cholesterol) or chinese (full of monosodium glycerate which raises my blood pressure) and particularly fresh pork pies and sausages full of leftover pig bits (yuk delightful) .


In spite of this I have reached the grand old age of three score years and ten without too much trouble.

What am I doing wrong ?

Absolutely nothing - carry on enjoying yourself

[EMM]

Roy has hit the nail on the head as to why Overseas has been so popular to paraphrase him " Overseas is for those of us who did not really want to live in a country that is " too " foreign and are now pleased to have even more of the familiar around us , the UK in the sun "
As for competition we have noticed a steady rise in the number of special offers and discounts in Continente etc in the last 12 months, nothing to do with Overseas or the expats but demand from the local population and the crisis.

As the crisis deepens it will be interesting to see once the inital fuss wears off will those who have flocked to Overseas in the last week or so will continue to pay the premium they charge plus the additional costs of driving to Guia???
The Algarve has only a small potential market compared to the Costas.

Are they a flash in the pan or to put it another way a short sharp " ding from a microwave "

Life is boring Roy, walking, fishing, golf , birdwatching, reading, gardening,cooking, just bimbling around, I wish I could find time
to do as much of any of these as we hoped to but we are just too busy.

[roy4eyes]

Oh I do hate being paraphrased by amateurs - it gives me a headache and makes me dizzy.

...and I still don't know what I've done wrong.

And even worse - after today's forum I feel driven to return to my psychiatrist tomorrow to treat my Iceland withdrawal symptoms

And even even ( i.e. much) worse - after paying her fees won't be able to afford to go there for weeks and will have to eat healthy Portuguese food picked fresh from the funny farm

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha etc.