Some 12 per cent of the sample items quoted by Tesco at the launch of its "change for good" strategy early last month have increased in price again, while 10 per cent have had their price reduced further, according to a survey carried out by The Irish Times.
At the time of the launch on May 5th, the company provided journalists with a list of 62 sample price cuts from the overall number of 12,500 it said it was reducing as part of the new strategy to stem cross-Border shopping and steal a march on its rivals.
Last Sunday week, The Irish Timesrevisited the Drogheda branch where the strategy was unveiled and checked the prices on the list. Some items were not in stock or could not be located, leaving 50 items for comparison.
Among those which had gone up in price again were Kelloggs Special K, back up to €3.81 after being reduced to €3.32, Crisp’N’Dry vegetable oil, now at €3.99 after being reduced to €3.19 and Ryvita Crackerbread, which had been reduced to €1.05 but are now back at their earlier level of €1.55.
Other products on the list which had increased in price included a pack of red onions, back to 99c after a spell at 79c, Country Store chips, which were reduced to €1.29 but are now back up at €1.75. Johnsons babywipes were reduced from €3.59 to €2.79 but now cost €2.89.
A number of other products which were not on the list have also increased in price to their original levels. These include some Maxwell House and Nescafe coffee brands and Ocean Spray cranberry classic drink.
However, a number of products show significant further falls in price. A pack of X Large Pampers nappies had been cut from €17.99 to €14.65, and have been reduced further to €9.82. Cow and Gate follow-on milk was reduced from €10.99 to €8.39, and is now selling at €7.28.
A tin of Pedigree loaf dog food was reduced from 95c to 68c and is now on sale at 66c.