ICELAND

[HampshireRich]

This thread is one of the daftest I've ever read - personally I don't shop in Iceland at home but lots of people do, and there's no reason why there shouldn't be Iceland stores or equivalent in Portugal - and I suspect they won't make everyone obese either.

I presume Portugal has McDonalds and Burger King et al - and I know you can buy a Coca-Cola or Pepsi over there as well - so Iceland are not the first ones there.

So to put a bit of sense into this - I come to CVO once a year for 2 glorious weeks - and when I'm over there, I like to try the local food and drink whenever I can and use the restaurants every day - wil still have a steak or lamb chops, but normally eat outdoors which is a pleasure. Certainly don't eat Chicken Piri-piri or cataplanas at home.

For those who vist regular, or are lucky enough to live there, then you must have to live within your means, which probably results in having to cook for yourself occassionally - and, heaven forbid, buy some frozen food to put in the freezer.

If Iceland means folks can buy food - either cheaply or good value for money, or just because they can - good luck to Iceland and everyone else.

ps - is there a Fortnum and Masons anywhere - their hampers are to die for - and good value for momney too!

[TomUK]

This thread is about the Algarve not inner city UK.

Now I wonder who introduced the UK into this topic. Oh! that's right - it was EMM on Nov. 10th.

[EMM]

Tell me what Overseas sell if it is not predomnately UK products aimed at Expats /vistors from the UK !!

[R.Wethereyet]

Tell me what Overseas sell if it is not predomnately UK products aimed at Expats /vistors from the UK !!

Most of the prominent Brands sold in Iceland/Overseas are owned and manufactured by or under licence for the following:-

Nestlé (Swiss) the world's largest food and beverage company.
Nescafe, Perrier, Aero Kit Kat, Maggi, Hagen Dazs, Buittoni,
Kraft USA) the world's second largest food company,
Cadburys, Kraft, Jacobs, Oreo, Maxwell House
PepsiCo (USA) is the third largest food and beverage company.
Pepsi, 7Up, Quaker, Wakers (Lays in Europe),
Coca Cola (USA) Worlds largest soft drinks supplier
Coca Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Lilt
Unilever (Anglo-Dutch) company that owns many of the world's well known consumer product brands in foods and beverages.
Flora, Bertolli, PG Tips, Colmans, Hellmans, Walls, (Ola in Pt), Knorr,
Schweppes USA Soft Drinks, manufactured in Portugal/Spain under licence by Orangina Schweppes Suntory (Japanese)
Kellog Co (USA) the world's biggest cereal manufacturing company.
Corn Flakes, All Bran, Rice Crispies
Pinnacle Foods USA
Birds Eye frozen foods.

So NO they are not UK Brands aimed at Expats and visitors from the UK, they are Global brands that are sold in shops and supermarkets worldwide, and only Unilever is part UK owned, the rest are American or Swiss.

You will also find that most of the manufactured goods sold in the other supermarkets in Portugal are also owned by these global giants, and not by Portuguese companies as you seem to be trying to say. Portugal produces very little in manufactured foodstuffs, maybe if it did we wouldn't be paying for the mess we find ourselves in now.

As for the Algarve, if it wasn't for the Expats and tourists, British, Irish, German, Dutch or other nationality who have invested billions here over the last 20 or so years, and contributed untold millions to the Financas, the Algarve would still be a wasteland, and many Portuguese who moved down here to open touristic businesses to service foreigner's needs, would not have the wealth and lifestyle they have today.

[EMM]

I do not argue with some of your points, as the global brands you describe are so freely available elsewhere in the Algarve why bother to go to somewhere who imports them from the UK ??
Again READ THEIR WEB SITE ( in English ) it is aimed at BRITS, Overseas has not even attempted to appeal to the local market, or any other nationality for that matter , why is there not a Portuguese version.
They have obviously have an appeal as one poster on another forum commented on how nice it was to have " english " check out staff.

I am in a minority ( maybe of 1 ) I do not want to see the Algarve become like the Costas, I do not want to see tescos, Asda et al.
I see no need for this store as it does not bring anything better than is already available .

As for your last comment I would to give the vast majority of those various nationalities credit for wanting to move to the Algarve because it is in Portugal, not Dublin, Dusseldorf etc.
Sadly those in predominately English parts of the Algarve may find ( as we have seen ) that the new nationalities who are visiting and buying in the Algarve are positively discriminating against those areas in favour of those towns/ resorts which have a more Portuguese feel, certainly less English.

If I were the owners of Overseas ( Drop the Iceland name )I would have done more research, looked at the likely demographic changes , disposable income changes in years to come, looked at which nationalities were increasing and their purchasing power , tastes and opened a truly " OVERSEAS Products " store selling quality products which cannot be bought locally . Being TOO English may work against them.

Do they really want the image of a " Brit Shop selling popular ( UK Discounted products ) to a Brit market in search of the familiar at the lowest price ???

[roy4eyes]

Oh dear EMM - you really are getting your knickers (M.&S.?) in a twist over this one. You should really watch your blood pressure.
You ask two questions:-
1/ when Aldi/Lidl import global brands from Germany, Intermarche/Continente from France, PingoDoce from Spain, what on earth is wrong with Overseas/Iceland importing from U.K. That is assuming they do import from U.K. rather than centralised European warehouses.
2/ I am sure they are delighted to have the image of " a Brit shop selling discounted U.K. products" to the largest group of ex-pats by nationality in the Algarve.

Having been shot down on every point you have made it might now be better for you stay in a minority of one and leave the rest of us to occasionally enjoy a familiar treat.

[Michael Crane]

.....Having been shot down on every point you have made it might now be better for you stay in a minority of one and leave the rest of us to occasionally enjoy a familiar treat.

Shreddies.JPG (88.91 KiB) Viewed 7529 times

[roy4eyes]

The one cereal I didn't see on any of my visits

I think they must be bad for ones health - and we don't want that do we ?

Can you fit some in your case - I'm down to my last Tesco Pack !!

You really do know my weak points don't you

[R.Wethereyet]

I do not argue with some of your points, as the global brands you describe are so freely available elsewhere in the Algarve why bother to go to somewhere who imports them from the UK ??
Again READ THEIR WEB SITE ( in English ) it is aimed at BRITS, Overseas has not even attempted to appeal to the local market, or any other nationality for that matter , why is there not a Portuguese version.
They have obviously have an appeal as one poster on another forum commented on how nice it was to have " english " check out staff.

I am in a minority ( maybe of 1 ) I do not want to see the Algarve become like the Costas, I do not want to see tescos, Asda et al.
I see no need for this store as it does not bring anything better than is already available .

As for your last comment I would to give the vast majority of those various nationalities credit for wanting to move to the Algarve because it is in Portugal, not Dublin, Dusseldorf etc.
Sadly those in predominately English parts of the Algarve may find ( as we have seen ) that the new nationalities who are visiting and buying in the Algarve are positively discriminating against those areas in favour of those towns/ resorts which have a more Portuguese feel, certainly less English.

If I were the owners of Overseas ( Drop the Iceland name )I would have done more research, looked at the likely demographic changes , disposable income changes in years to come, looked at which nationalities were increasing and their purchasing power , tastes and opened a truly " OVERSEAS Products " store selling quality products which cannot be bought locally . Being TOO English may work against them.

Do they really want the image of a " Brit Shop selling popular ( UK Discounted products ) to a Brit market in search of the familiar at the lowest price ???

Hear hear Roy, and thank you EMM for finally accepting that the brands are not UK but global, albeit printed in English.

However to pick up on yet more new facts you are now using to justify your anti BRIT point, and having sidestepped so many other poster's Q's & A's in your many earlier posts, both on here and other popular forums in Portugal, (are you a politician by the way - you should be), here are more facts that oppose your statements.

Overseas website is in English and SPANISH, if you had bothered to take a bit more notice, and how do you know for a fact that part of the site is not currently under construction, and being input with a Portuguese translation.

The vast majority of the global brands in other supermarkets were originally stocked for the foreign visitor or resident, and price pointed at a premium to gain extra revenue from them, that's why many local Portuguese do not buy them - price, and why the Northern Portuguese always stock up their vehicles at home before holidaying down here. We have to pay a premium Brit, German, Dutch or whatever nationality, and we are the major purchasers from these supermarkets

The same products barring a few are much cheaper in Iceland Guia or Overseas T/A Iceland, and I and many others are pleased that we can now buy a product without a 'Tousist 'price tag. Even if they had called it Islândia or Ultramarino, and it had same quality products at better prices, with better customer service, myself, and I am sure many others, would still shop there Brit or other. Competition is good and it will certainly 'wake up' the other supermarkets into realising that the 'cash cow' of tourism cannot continually be abused, and when they see their captive market diminishing, they will either close down, as E'leclerc have done, or become more competitive.

Again, your comment about giving credit to the majority of various nationalities who chose the Algarve because it is in Portugal, not Dublin or Dusseldorf, where the hell else could it be, the Algarve has always been a region of Portugal, but why not mention those from London or Leeds or Edinburgh or Cardiff. Oh yes I know why that would give credit to Brits also.

The only reason people originally came here, was to make money out of a growing tourist economy, or to retire to what was once one of the cheapest under developed areas of Southern Europe with sun. The Algarve was never, and will never, be the true Portugal, and that is borne out by the number of Northern Portuguese who only came here to open tourist businesses, not build or cater for the local Algarveans and give them a taste of different regions within Portugal, but to make money out of foreigners.

My family and I have lived in, and worked in the Algarve for 8 years, and I cannot say that there are any areas that are positively discriminated against by the new breed of visitors or foreign buyers, currently Scandinavians & Eastern Europeans, because of a dominant British population - wherever that is, and that they prefer the 'Portuguese areas. The entire Algarve, coastal, rural, town or village is populated by or holidayed in, by British and most other nationalities. Most Portuguese workers, however, cannot afford to live in the areas that the Estrangeiro buys in, lives in or vacations in, Brit or otherwise, nor do most foreigners want to live in city centre high rises or apartment blocks in the cities, where mostly Portuguese et alia live, or where the native elderly/retired live in the tiny rural communities, kilometres from anywhere without mains water, electricity or proper sanitation, or live off the land growing fruit and veg, and killing the livestock to eat. Only the wealthier Portuguese live in or own in the touristic areas, and why, because they have made substantial sums from the foreigners and achieved higher yields on property investments created by foreign investment initially.

Oh and by the way, how's your Freesat Brit. Channel Sat System working, has it started showing all the portuguese channels yet? No! so why do you need Brit TV in Portugal.

[pato]

This thread is one of the daftest I've ever read

You obviously haven't read my Chrizzy thread on Chit Chat then.

[joeysoap]

I think it's time to close this thread. some of the posts are getting a bit too personal and venomous.

[EMM]

The Algarve is changing albeit gradually. yes at the moment the " Brits " are the dominant expat group but the economic attractions and incentives ( the " Place in the Sun market " ) that created this no longer exist and it will be years if ever before they return, We no longer have the same economic influence as before. Many existing bars , restaurants, service providers etc that have focused and relied on this market have failed or are failing and this trend will continue.
As a % of tourists and new property buyers we are gradually declining ,this winter there are no major UK tour operators active in the Algarve.
I can tell you from personal experience that there are buyers from the growing Scandanavian property buying market who do specifically ask for areas which are not TOO English.

Overseas has for them made a good commercial decision for them, they have identified a market and a demand, what dissappoints and puzzles me is are some of the reasons for that demand .


THE END.

[shanagarry]

Wow - what a lot of excitement over a supermarket - amazing!

I have followed the topic on and off as I have absolutely no interest in the subject. On the rare occasion I do go to a supermarket - I will choose the cheapest and couldn't care less what nationality they are or what national produce they sell - with one exception.

As this has unfolded I have waited to see if Apolonia was going to get a mention and it hasn't - why? As I understand, it is Portuguese and seriously expensive (average of 27% more on 5 products I have compared). We do shop there when we need (as opposed to want) specific products and it never ceases to amaze me when I see the place very busy. A few weeks ago I was drawn to watching a German couple dominate one checkout for the best part of 45 minutes - their total bill was €2,856 and they filled 4 trolleys. I know - I should get a life - but it beat walking up and down aisles looking at rows of tins and jars etc.

Clearly the others Continente/Lidl/Pao do Acucar/Pingo Doce/Intermarche etc don't appear to have bitten into their market share and it begs the question - will Iceland? I don't particularly care as long as the increased competition brings down the cost of food.

Some of you need to get out more - there's a great world out there

[James Faro]

This proves one thing - our German friends are doing exceptionally well.

[R.Wethereyet]

Wow - what a lot of excitement over a supermarket - amazing!
As this has unfolded I have waited to see if Apolonia was going to get a mention and it hasn't
.

As a discount Apollonia I am sure you are right.

Oh yes it was.