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Jack's

Started by londoner83, 13-09-18, 10:09PM

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londoner83

What's everyone's thoughts on the new discount chain.

grim up north

Is this 'project MI'?

forrestgimp

I dont really have any, Its another store thats all.

Duracell

Considering the great lengths the Company have gone to try and level benefits, we are going to see a different pay and benefits package for staff employed to "Jacks" which has been openly publisised.

It will be interesting to see if Leigh Day have an interest in this blatant disparity. Personally I don't think they will be in the slightest bit interested in "Jacks", but the similar work type, industry and the same overall employer and decision making senior team.
So the question in terms of work of equal value..if "jacks" is being established to take on one of the Parent company's biggest threats and challenges, Aldi and Lidl and the discount market, are Staff employed to "Jacks" of equal or greater value?
My Opinion is exactly that, Mine.  Based on my view of what I know , see and what I would do.
"Being a rep doesn't make a person right anymore than not being a rep makes a person wrong " 

Duracell.

specialgravy

pretty pointless to be honest,everyone knows its t**co. they dont have the advantage of location that the discounters do (being able to site stores close to large superstores) and if the converted metros happen to be close, they are competing with themselves. it will be a drain on finances as they will likely be running at a loss while they establish themselves (homeplus ran at a loss for its entire lifespan) any disparity on pay and conditions will hit an already demoralised workforce. pretty standard money wasting exercise for this lot...

OvaSees

Quote from: OvaSees on 13-09-18, 02:35PM

Quote from: OpShunned on 12-09-18, 10:37PM
'Jacks' in my opinion is an absolute joke of a non-concept. In my humble opinion it epitomises a knee jerk reaction that has pervaded the Tesco boardroom while they punch each other in search of embryonic longevity.
Truth. The biggest problem with this whole venture is that it's still Tesco, rather akin to the fake farms - Tesco still pretends that Rosedene Farm is some sort of local producer. Give it time, probably when it is thought to have done its job of reversing market share going to discounters, and it will morph back into normal Tesco gradually through introduction of own label and eventually the name. Nobody outside Tesco who shops at a discounter doesn't even know who the heck 'Jack' is and neither do they care, nor would I guess does anyone inside Tesco with less than 5 or 10 years' service. It's a short sacrifice to win customers back.

If Tesco wanted to seriously compete with the discounters it could do so as, you know, Tesco - the name that was built on the principle of being the consumers champion. It would just need to listen to customers, lower its prices, get rid of all the gimmicky nonsense such as self serve tills (which you don't find at discounters) and improve service instead of farting around with grandoise costly schemes, a bit like it always did before its corporate arrogance took over around 20 years ago, and even more like it did when the real Jack ran the business. The concept of the scheme itself is proof that after nearly a decade Tesco finally recognises that the discounters are credible competitors eating its market share and that it needs to respond, and also that nothing it is doing is working. But this is not innovation it's emulation - it's a case of 'if you can't beat them join them' and thus an admission that we've been ripping customers off for years.

To compete with discounters does not need another brand, another name, another shop on the street. It needs lower prices. But this is today's Tesco - when simplicity is all that's required you can bet for sure that the most overly complex, costly solution will be found. If Jack were still alive, he'd walk into Aldi or Lidl and think they were his legacy as they more closely resemble the principles he built the company on whilst wondering what the hell Tesco is doing. Tesco and its leaders have lost all retail acumen and obsess too much over complexities for this to succeed in the long to medium term.

I'd hate to be in one of those Jacks stores - the expectation and pressure for them to deliver will be unmanageable and it will be those poor store teams who take the blame when it doesn't live up. This will backfire - if Jacks is seen as a 'discounter' then that means Tesco will be thus be seen as 'the expensive alternative side to the brand'. You can market, spin and dress this up however you wish but its still Tesco and that means the same blood flows through it, the same profit-centric blood that sees customers as an inconvenient cog in the wheel of taking money. Customers are fatigued with all that fakery which is another factor in the decision to shop elsewhere.

Totot

It wont work in my opinion. It is like putting a soldier in a war......far in the back, no matter how strong the soldier is.
If it is working, it will be like eliminate enemy who stay with you in the same building....with a bomb.

But lets get back into technicality, retail management, management knowldege of retail and the art of retail business.
Since late 90's, so much style had been emerged from anywhere in the world. The american standard retail management start vanishing in some places. The trick of discount and promo, the principal of putting the shelf full will increase the selling, and any psychological trick in the 80's and 90's not really working anymore, it never anyway, it was just people who like to play with statistic while ignoring other detail with hope getting higher position thats happened.

For example, like last summer, how tesco now still try to push the selling, while they sd know that the size of the market wont be bigger than the money of customer willing to spend, mostly after spending more in certain time window.
In the end, any company need to rethink to the basic of retail, are they siding with customer or supplier, or the mix in between and lean to where.

Basic retail will be asking about cost of production and proper profit margin from the supplier while make the business as efficient as possible. Making the margin of profit lower while boosting the number of sales.

What we got now is make a space to supplier while playing the rule of "golden product" for each one in certain time, to make sure customer buy a certain product in certain time and another product in other time. Meanwhile pushing "standard operational jargon" that been known for decades  to complete it and some rule and changes base on what the higher management feel "right" regardless financial analysis of each job if there were any.
Example, do we need to find, scan and put label on nearly expire date item so it will be 7pence cheaper that no customer will ever appreciated it while do reduction even lower within 2 hours that customer might start to be interested.

I dont know what jack's procedures are but judging from the mother company, i guess it wont be modern type of retail management, because if those big bosses know, they will apply it first in the main company. They start get some clue a bit but it is too slow.
Let see what Jack will chose as retail strategy platform, we can see more after we know this.

Cutting the cost regardless of the core  management of retail only show that they just want to make financial statement look good for short time, with never care that the retail collapse from inside from its own basic principal. It is all about who take the big salary and bonus as much as possible and f*** **f  after the boat start sinking.

And it is not just in this company, other company suffer the same, the highest enjoy carrots, the lowest eat stick and ready to loose their job.
What we needed is a pay cap between lower and higher rank in company. Knowing some people who earn millions just to drag company to administration willl happen more. I dont mind if they earn million but if the make the company bust, they should have full responsibility financially of that, that mean their whole asset and closest family will be on it stake.
How about 50 times max pay gap between lower and highest for start or fully financial resposibility if it is over, would any mp support that.

Dooby27

How have they treated the workers that were in the existing metro stores? What's happened to them?

patty1

If what happened in our store is reflected in the other stores, the majority will have taken redundancy.   The new store will have a third of the staff and management. And when one of the biggest things people always said about it was the excellent customer service then there wont the that in the new one!  I certainly won't be shopping there and if the range is cut back as much as it will need to be for so few staff to run the store, I don't see how they will beat the sales we had. And they weren't massive.

The-shelf-filler

It's to late for jack's as the other discount stores are established.

Will be interested to see the range they will offer,I know the cheap range from Tesco will be in the shops but what about cheaper items ?

penguin

We should all be worried about this, how long before Tesco start to bring our benefits "in line" with what Jacks are offering, we could all end up losing out once again. Given the cost savings long term for Tesco one can see a lot of stores getting converted over the coming years will space in the larger ones not used for Jacks being sold or rented out to third parties.
Do not let anyone tell you there is not a decent job and life beyond Tesco.

bugsbunny

Why are staff in Jacks getting paid £9 an hour? How is that fair we don't get that?

OpShunned

#12
Quote from: The-shelf-filler on 14-09-18, 04:33PM
It's to late for jack's as the other discount stores are established.

Will be interested to see the range they will offer,I know the cheap range from Tesco will be in the shops but what about cheaper items ?

Will it survive largely on the quality of its products?

Lidl and Aldi offer different products which may or may not attract customers like me?

Customer service is almost non-existent but the trade-off is low-priced quality products. I've shared such conversation with other customers. Some may disagree and want a level of customer service they will ultimately pay for with higher prices.

Would be interesting to see what profit margin each store is forecast to achieve.

Volume will be at the expense of customer service? Only time will tell?

Hopefully, as others have pointed out, this isn't the emulation of discounters because Lidl /Aldi et.al are not discounters. They offer quality products at a price that shoppers can afford in an environment of austerity. They do not discount branded products. That is a fallacy?


terrybigballs

#13
Should imagine it will be full of booker branded value stock? They got to offer something different than Aldi/Lidl , home delivery maybe?
Learn how to do the job efficiently in these stores and transfer what methods they can get away with in the main Tesco stores.

Dooby27

It's a shocking way to treat people just to please the shareholders

OpShunned

#15
Quote from: Dooby27 on 14-09-18, 07:40PM
It's a shocking way to treat people just to please the shareholders

Unless they stop giving away Clubcard points/Deals/Promotions ala the so called discounters/Asda?

What if the whole shebang ended up as 'Jack's' and thus dispensing with TESCO?

It could achieve a levelling of wages across the board facilitated by reduced overheads?

Is the Booker tie-up working?

Is 'Jack's' an anachronism, borne out of desperation, hankering after a bygone age of embryonic growth?

Lidl/Aldi/Jack

4 letters in formation but bugger all in common  :D

londoner83

The problem  Tesco has is it's customers have come to expect a certain level of service...a CSD to moan at or to return items; shopfloor staff to take you to a product and cashiers to chat to as they slowly scan.

By launching a new concept they can scrap CSD and follow the Aldi model where little is taken back. They can sell a limited range off of pallets that will need minimal replenishment and thus can have far less staff. They can ignore Labour intensive departments like counters and scratch bakeries and they can task cashiers to hit thru put targets.

The question i wait to be answered is will customers accept discount service (which will be necessary for them to make a profit) from a "Tesco" brand

OpShunned

I have a feeling that your fears' may be realised.

Something has to give to achieve a 4%? margin or so. It has to be customer service?

This project will be all about efficiency, maximising the scale of movement of products.

Imitation is a form of flattery, or maybe resignation  :o

lackofinterest

Quote from: penguin on 14-09-18, 06:39PM
We should all be worried about this, how long before Tesco start to bring our benefits "in line" with what Jacks are offering, we could all end up losing out once again. Given the cost savings long term for Tesco one can see a lot of stores getting converted over the coming years will space in the larger ones not used for Jacks being sold or rented out to third parties.
what benefits? i don't get any, unless you mean the free shares which i wouldn't miss if they got rid of them

notsofunny

Quote from: Dooby27 on 14-09-18, 07:40PM
It's a shocking way to treat people just to please the shareholders

Its been the same all along ,

and sadly it will stay the same ,

After all the wages are paid for by the Owners not by the workers ,

grim up north

Products branded as 'Jack's' have appeared on MU's in our DC

OpShunned

#21
makes sense .

Will the uniform differ? Has to I guess.

Prices will in all probability be very competitive although i speculate Drastic and his robber sidekick will already be crunching figures that project incrementally dire consequences for the mug-punter that deserts Aldi and lidl.

These guys are robber-barons, whether you are an employee/ shopper or both.

My advice, albeit biased and non-professional, is to avoid this charade. It will only serve to erode the standards of a Tesco workforce, already being invaded by a pervasive bunch of robber-barons in the guise of of a company that lauds its mission to make it better for all.

Dave Lewis and Alun Stewart are modern-day robber-barons. They care little for the dedicated people they employ, they care even less for the shoppers who visit their stores.

Jack Cohen, and let's face it no-one here remembers the guy would have kicked Drastic's robber barons out of TESCO rather than watch his company descend into desperate mergers and pathetic attempts to survive.

terrybigballs

Costco style bulk buys

mexicopete

Tosco offer quality as well as branded..so l can't see Jacks resembling it in any way. :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown:
The worlds me lobster

Hammer10

There is a need for some more competition out there as many companies going to thrall so if you ain't in it you won't win it .The stores are already there so no cost there just a case of jiggling around the pieces ,it may well work if so the other dis counters better watch out.On the other hand if it flops then how much has it cost only time will tell.

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