Sainsbury's is coming to Stroud Green Road - Woody's is going!

krappyrubsnif

GIVE ME ANY DAY CAPITAL LETTERS AND EXCLAMATION MARKS !!!! BEST PROSE IN STROUD GREEN !!!!!!

Philistine'sMonster

This is great! Kreuzkav, tell us more about Germany and the unusual people you met who store things in their bottoms. Sounds fascinating.

tosscat

2 quid off a 6 quid spend in tesco. Giving away vouchers outside now. The gloves are off.

kreuzkav

I think one of the benefits of Sainsburys opening is that Tesco has generally become less busy. But it's hard to predict. I went into it yesterday at about 7pm and it was really crowded, so I went up to Sainsburys to get a few bits and pieces. No queue and I got what I wanted but at a slightly more expensive price. Nothing to worry too much about though!

@philistine. If you're ever in Germany, just look at the shape of their toilets and you'll know what I mean. Germany is great though, in many other ways!

Brodiej

Oh my days. An argument over the appropriate use of exclamation marks on an article about a supermarket. Like most people on here, i suspect we can all decipher the intent and point of most posts without them having to check their old school books for guidence.

Sainsbury's feedback thus far: For a convenience store (its not a big enough footprint for a supermarket) there is way too much focus on grocery, and not enough on fresh fruit and veg. The range is tiny and often out of stock. Key selling points such as the fresh bread and chilled beer and wine are lost at the back. The self service payment kiosks are a welcome addition though. The overall quality of the offer is strong, but i don't think they quite get how people will shop them......i would expect a few tweaks to the layout over the next 6-months.

Ian

I overheard the shop manager talking to another Sainsbury's bod on day two. He said "they have put a lot of the high end lines in and I don't think this is the sort of area for that'. I think he is misjudging the area a bit but others might disagree. I think the kind of people likely to use the Sainsbury's local are more likely to want some of the better meat etc. Their area knowledge can't be that good as they clearly overstock with Daily Mails, but my guess is that the stock control systems are sophisticated enough to work out pretty quickly what should and shouldn't be stocked. My pithy take - too many ready meals, particularly curries (particularly with Mezeban just down the road). Too many sandwiches and salad pots which I guess are targeted at people who work in the area which I can't think is enough to sustain that amount of stock, but I might be wrong. Some odd "back to school/university" stock (toasters and calculators) which will go soon. Not enough fruit and veg - although in a store that small it might be that the volume (stockroom space) to margins might not be enough but we will see. Not enough fresh meat, which I would put in instead of the ready meals, (particularly the Chicken en Croute which looks wholly unapetising). But what do I know about retail supply chain management?

Brodiej

I think we were spoilt with the butchers at woodies. First class produce at very low prices compared to the mults. Several of my friends work in food writing and they often stocked up when visiting because the standards were so high. As a consequence, i think the catchment would like high quality meat lines but now know that they don't have to pay the odds for it. That said, those that saw the cleanliness of the store being an issue probably stayed clear and now welcome the "trust" associated with the Sainsburys brand. Its an inferior meat product, but its the same wherever you shop throughout the country. As for fruit and veg, Woodies had a great range but the quality meant that you generally had to use it same day. So, i think the Woodies shopper would sit in work thinking about what they wanted for dinner during the day and buy a few key items on the way home to create their gourmet experience! The limited range in Sainsburys now makes this much harder.

I think Sainsbury's need to capitalise on how people used to shop Woodies with a greater focus on the core areas (Veg, meat, essentials, ethnic one-offs). Together with their expertise on the more familiar categories (grocery, household, alcohol, crisps and snacks) that Woodies were poor at, they should do very well. Ready meals are part and parcel of London life so a focus on this area is expected, but like Ian said, the range is odd and needs tweaking.

I'm rather surprised that there aren't many special opening offers to support the launch. The Tesco money off promotion is very strong, and with us not being too attached to either brand, the cash in the wallet scenario is much more appealing than just trying somewhere new.

Tesco 1 Sainsburys 0

miss annie

There are quite a lot of other places on SGR to buy fruit and veg, and many off these also sell 'ethnic one offs'.

sincers

There's a pretty good butchers about 20 yards away from Sainsbury's as well.

Brodiej

Yes there are. I'm just interested to see how the corporate machine adapts to a new home or whether they just hammer their formula regardless of who lives on the doorstep. This particular store isn't my most convenient shopping option, i still use the Turkish places on Hornsey Road. Where else could you buy a 1kg bag of tortilla chips, 15 different types of hummus and a 5L can of olive oil?

sincers

Ah, I've been looking for somewhere (not very hard) that sells Olive Oil in bigger bulk. Which place do you mean @Brodiej

krappyrubsnif

I really, really miss the chicken breast, diced meat and joints of lamb that Woody's used to do at very good prices. Unbeatable. Nothing that Tesco or Sainsbury can do will compensate, no matter how many vacuum packs they stick in the chiller.

Ian

@Brodiej - if you want very large cans of olive oil then MAH Brothers on Tollington is really your place...

Ali

The butchers up the road is very good ! The eggs are well priced and huge, the whole chickens roasted are miles better that any of the supermarkets. Pity they don’t do there own sausages etc but I guess that is because they are mainly a meat supply butcher to a lot of restaurants in North London and the retail bit at the front is run by Paul the son.

krappyrubsnif

That's Tony and Paul - ace guys and if you want all the goss from up and down Crouch Hill, that's the place to go. Also good butchers. I don't think their meat is premier quality, but it's well good enough and half the price of Crouch End. They will prepare it the traditional way and tell you how to cook it as well - brilliant. They're always trying to get me to buy cheaper stuff than I ask for. For example, if I go in clutching a Gordon Ramsey recipe and ask for sirloin steak, I end up coming out with a carrier bag of...whatever is cheaper....I dunno, rump or something. Yeah, recommended

emine

I hope the RSPCA Freedom Food meat and fish are not considered "high end lines" by the manager. I don't want them to disappear - it's great to be able to buy them nearby now instead of going to the Green Lanes Sains or Waitrose. I might have to check with him or if he's reading this, keep the Freedom Food !!!

sincers

As a big fan of Tesco, this story made me laugh: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-11419498>;

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ten4

Never posted here before but felt I had to after visiting S. Local this evening. The check-out girl (is that what they're called?) remarked to me how pleasant it is working at this store compared to the one she trained at (Essex Rd) because the overwhelming majority of customers here are very polite to her.

It made me proud to be living in such a civilised locale.

Donna

ten4 - that's nice to know. thanks for sharing that.

ADGS

Just wait for her to slip up when awarding Nectar points for bag reuse - she'll soon be disabused of that notion.

Emma

Heheheheheh.

Beek

I left my card in the Sainsbury's scan and pack machine. I think I've been conditioned by the Tesco's ones that remind you to "please remove your card" When I went to pick up my card, there were roughly 10 other cards in the tills, from the last 24 hours, waiting to be picked up prior to being destroyed. Just thought I'd mention it, as it seems to be a bit of a problem...

ADGS

Countering the gentrification wave implied by Sainsbury's arrival, the wraps are now off the 99p store at the other end of SGR. We shall fight them on the beaches...

Arkady

where's that exactly?

ADGS

At the crossroads, next to the Blackstock on Seven Sisters Road. I think it used to be the florist and that dismal clothes shop which spent about seven years closing down.

Arkady

Is that where they have been renovating about four shops in a row recently? It looked like they were converting them into one large premises, I was hoping for something better than a 99p shop. Like a Lazar Quest!

Ali

I think they are stopping the buildings above the shops falling down !

Reg

I got shown around the soon to be 99p store by the owner last week. He tried to get tesco before they moved further along. 99p stores are doing well, I don't think there were many other takers. What that area needs is for that triangular site (with dotoris in it admittedly) to come down and for a public open space to be introduced in front of the station. One can dream.

ADGS

I'm not sure I like the sound of Lazar Quest, all the limbs falling off would clutter that stretch of pavement still further.

That triangular spot doesn't just have Dotori, it has the Silver Bullet and Orleans which, while I've never been to either, are the closest thing to nightlife we've got. And who would want to lounge around on a public open space between a bus station and a crossroads? It'd be more street drinkers than European-style plaza culture.