Lidl has beaten budget rival Aldi to be crowned the UK’s cheapest supermarket of 2020 in the annual survey by consumer choice group Which?
But it was a close call, as price difference between the two supermarket giants was just 34p.
As part of its annual research, Which? tracked 45 own-label and branded products in eight major supermarkets for at least 100 days and calculated the average price of each item over the year, as well as the total average cost of all the items.
Lidl came in at £42.67, with Aldi following behind at £43.01.
We found that @LidlGB was the cheapest supermarket for 2020 — edging out Aldi by 34p for the title → https://t.co/OVbE6fKxOz
Our trolley of groceries contained 45 popular branded and own-label products, including Hovis bread, Knorr stock cubes, eggs, cucumber and tomatoes.
The 2020 list is actually the first time that Lidl has been included in the Which? survey, which now includes own-label products as well as household-name brands.
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The two supermarkets have boomed in popularity in recent years – with Lidl now operating upwards of 800 UK stores and Aldi around 900 – and both chains are continuing to chip away at the market share of other established rivals.
ASDA came third in the survey, but by a margin of over £5 – at £48.71.
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Tesco was next on the list at £53.30, then Morrisons at £53.61, and Sainsbury’s rounded out the rest of the major chains at £56.38, with the most expensive options revealed to be Waitrose (£68.69) and its affiliated delivery service Ocado (£66.83).
There were big differences in the price of some items at the cheapest and dearest supermarkets.
Experts helped Which? compare own-label items to make sure they were as similar as possible in terms of factors such as quality.
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For example, Which? found that Waitrose’s own-label cooked and peeled prawns were £4.60 on average, when the equivalent was £1.99 at Lidl, and six own-label free-range eggs at Waitrose were £2.47 on average, with the equivalent £1.27 at Lidl.
One significant advantage also identified by Which? that the established supermarket brands benefited from this year is home delivery – something that has seen a large spike in demand during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic – and retailers that already operated online were generally able to scale up their deliveries rapidly, with most doubling their capacity in just a few months.
Tesco was noted to have more than doubled delivery capacity during spring 2020, to 1.4 million slots a week.
While Lidl and Aldi both do not have dedicated in-house delivery services in the UK, Aldi is however sending food parcels out to vulnerable people during the crisis.
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Embrace announce intimate live show in beloved Bury music venue
Danny Jones
British alternative veterans Embrace have announced another intimate show here in Greater Manchester, only this time it’s over in Bury at a stunning small-cap arts venue.
It’s not often you get to see such a long-standing band play outside of the city centre so far into their career, especially in gorgeous grassroots spaces like this one.
A fellow Northern outfit, they’ve often been lumped in with that ‘post-Britpop’ era of music, and plenty throw around the so-called ‘dad rock’ label, but honestly, we couldn’t care either way: they remain among the UK’s perennially underappreciated underdogs that never get old, as far as we’re concerned.
Revealing a handful of new live dates for their album launch this summer, they’ll be making just two appearances in the North West on the run.
Writing in the post, the group said: “We’ve lined up a run of exclusive UK dates in venues that are some of the smallest we’ve played in years. It’s going to be special, but capacity is extremely limited.”
As you can see, besides the Jacaranda Baltic in Liverpool, the only other place in this region where they’re set to play for this mini tour is The Met over in Bury.
One of the most beautiful gig spots, not just in the town but in all the 10 boroughs, for our money, the room only holds around 400 standing and roughly 250 seats.
For seasoned artists like this lot, who are more used to playing big festival stages and big domestic headline tours – which they’re also doing later this year – it’s sure to be a special night.
Toasting the release of their ninth studio LP, Avalanche, this spin-off on the tried and tested in-store format wouldn’t be possible without the help of local record store, Wax and Beans, who are promoting and hosting the show.
But we can’t lie, there’s something about the idea of seeing them decades on from when they first tightly-packed out crowds of this size.
If you want to be part of the Embrace album launch tour, you can get ready to grab your tickets at 10am this Friday, 27 March, right HERE. And speaking of great record shops…
Salford RLFC issue statement as head coach Mike Grady departs after less than three months
Danny Jones
Salford Rugby League Football Club have issued an official statement following the departure of head coach Mike Grady, who has left the role after less than three months in the job.
It has been insisted that this is not a sacking, but rather a joint decision to terminate his contract.
Grady, who took up the mantle at the start of this project following the end of the Salford Red Devils era, was only appointed on 5 January.
He had previously been in charge of the Red Devils’ women’s side over the past couple of years, but moved over to hopefully lead this new era forward.
As you can see, the club confirmed in a statement that they and Grady have “mutually agreed to part ways due to changes in his personal circumstances.”
They go on to write: “We are forever indebted to Mike for his unwavering commitment to the club. We want to thank him for all his hard work since taking on the role as Head Coach in very challenging circumstances in December.”
Also sharing a comment from former player turned CEO, Ryan Brierley, he said: “Mike came in as Coach at a time when the club had just come through one of its toughest times with the double impact of relegation and liquidation.
“He was willing to roll up his sleeves and bring stability to the club on the pitch. The fact we were able to field a team against Oldham in January, after only three weeks, speaks volumes about his commitment and determination. To beat Hunslet at home only four weeks later was a fantastic achievement.
“Mike will always be remembered as the person [who] strived and achieved the objective of sending out the first Salford team of this new era. A team running onto the pitch, after so much hard work, gave us all something to cheer about. We also remember how well he successfully guided our women’s team to third and fourth place finishes in the Championship.”
Sharing his own farewell message, he went on to add: “I want to thank Ryan for the opportunity to represent this great club and fan base. What we created at the start of the year was pretty special, and I’m proud to have built that.
“I’m happy to leave the club in a better place than I found it and wish the club all the best for the future.” Salford RLFC have already assured that they are now recruiting for his replacement.
Emily Sergeant -
15th January 2021 
