Cole's Supermarkets have announced a new policy. Prices of grocery items will be the same in all their stores - from the smallest country town to the big city stores.
But hang on a moment ! It sounds great - but what does it really mean ?
If prices vary at the moment then an adjustment will be required to achieve price parity in all stores. Some items will go down in price - but some will have to increase.
It sounds like the old adage of " the swings and the roundabouts ", but we live in the real world and what we are talking about here is the first rule of commerce - make a profit !
The way this will have to work is fairly simple. On " price change day " emails will be sent from Cole's head office to all stores detailing the " specials " that will apply for that week.
Unfortunately individual store managers will have no say in using prices as a means of attracting business. " Big Brother " back at head office will rule the roost on prices and store managers will be " managers " in name only.
It might look good on paper, but there is a certain inevitability about a common pricing structure.
We can expect more prices to head " up " than those going in the opposite direction !
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