Price wars

Price wars

WAITROSE managing director Mark Price has been assessing the threat of the German discounters to the upmarket grocer.

"I went to the oracle on this. I phoned my mother."

He added: "To my surprise she said she has shopped in Lidl."

Mr Price noted that his mother returned from her expedition with a four-pack of hub caps and a carbon monoxide detector.

"I talked to the Waitrose board and he decided we are not going to sell car parts," he said.

Referendum's reach

IT seems there is no sphere of industry untouched by the independence referendum.

Peter Cheese, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), was telling delegates at the organisation's conference in Glasgow last week that it was the second time he had attended the event.

"Maybe next time I'll need to bring my passport," he quipped.

Food of love

BACK on grocery discounters, the news from Aldi, that it will draft in a DJ to entertain the crowds when it opens its 50th store in Scotland today, had us wondering which food and drink-themed songs feature on the playlist.

Food Glorious Food, from Oliver! the musical, sprang immediately to mind, followed closely by The Kinks' Afternoon Tea.

Given Aldi's commitment to stocking Scotch beef, one album unlikely to feature is The Smiths' classic Meat is Murder.

Secret sauce

ANDREW Dobbie, founder and managing director of Made Brave, lifted the lid on the strategy which has helped the graphic design, branding and digital agency win business from a host of major companies, including Aggreko, Repsol, L'Oreal and Peter Vardy.

"People always say to us, how do you get these big customers, these big clients," Mr Dobbie said. "And I always say I just talk to them."

The man at the top of Aggreko and the man at the top of L'Oreal is just a man.

He goes home and eats his digestive biscuits, tucks himself up in bed. People are just people.