Food giants hike prices in sister ‘metro’ branches

SUPERMARKETS are charging shoppers almost three times as much for some groceries in their ‘metro’ convenience stores.

An investigation into the price difference in supermarkets and their smaller inner-city branches shows a huge disparity in the cost of everyday items.

One trolley of groceries cost almost £10 more in a smaller shop than in the company’s superstore.

The analysis by BBC’s Inside Out looked at branded and own-brand wares from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose.

They compared the price of the same items in the larger megastores with smaller local shops in Birmingham. Inside Out employees visited the shops in September and October this year.

At Marks & Spencer the exact same shopping list cost £103.26 at the Birmingham High Street store but £112.44 at Simply Food in Birmingham New Street Station.

In the large Tesco on Camden Street, Birmingham, a banana cost 9p. However, it was priced at 25p at the Tesco Express in Frederick Street, a mark-up of 177 per cent.

The supermarkets said the price difference was due to the higher running costs of the smaller branches. They argue that as smaller stores are often based in town centres or train stations, the rent charged is higher.

Tesco said it worked hard to offer customers ‘great value’, while Marks & Spencer said it tried to ‘keep prices competitive’ but added that it was ‘in line with other retailers’ by charging more in convenience stores.

Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer stores in Birmingham, and Waitrose shops in Shropshire, had 45 of 50 items more expensive in the convenience stores. Tesco Express saw 39 of 50 items cost more.

Shopper Maggie Henning told the BBC: ‘It’s people like me, who need a convenience store because they haven’t got a car or can’t get to a large supermarket, who are actually paying the price for that.’

Tom Ironside, director of business and regulation at the British Retail Consortium, said: ‘Retailers always seek to offer their customers the best possible prices and they will provide consistent pricing across stores of a similar size.’

He added: ‘However, smaller stores can incur proportionally higher costs than larger outlets, which explains why sometimes products have to be charged at a higher price.’