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headline

Aldi's 'tactical' supermarket price drop

Discount supermarket Aldi is doubling down on its "Good Different" strategy, committing to a permanent price drop to 10 per cent of products sold in its everyday grocery range.

The German-owned supermarket announced this morning it was committing to reducing the prices on family staples such as free-range eggs, tasty cheese and mince.

Price reductions on these products would be as high as 30 per cent and come in the wake of in-house research that showed one in five Australians have felt they could not afford their weekly grocery shop.

READ MORE: Aldi rolls out self-serve checkout trial

It's a sharp tactical move, says Founder and CEO of the Retail Doctor Group Brian Walker, who believes that much of Aldi's losses on certain products will be shouldered by suppliers.

"I think it is doubling down on their 'Good, Different' strategy," Mr Walker tells 9News.com.au

"It's part of Aldi's position as a challenger brand in Australia."

As Mr Walker explains, the market share owned by supermarkets in Australia is not typically grown. Instead, competitors shave off market share by capturing customers that previously shopped elsewhere.

READ MORE: Pandemonium at Aldi stores as ski gear sale returns

"Aldi are playing to their strengths right now tactically. The future of supermarkets is interesting. If you look at Woolworths' capital investment for example, you see the growth of data, automation, fulfilment, right down to dark stores and even driverless delivery," Mr Walker said.

"Aldi are counterpunching here, at least in the short term, with this classic supermarket-style campaign. While Woolworths work is structural in that sense, Aldi's is tactical."

According to Walker, price drops at major supermarkets are typically done following a rigorous analysis of shopper data, and the modelling of a typical "basket" bought on a weekly shop.

READ MORE: Aldi looking to trial smaller format 'corner store' shops

Aldi special buys robot vacuum cleaner

Smaller margins on some products will typically result in higher margins on others.

"What supermarkets look for is the add-on sale. They ask, what is the complementary product with a higher margin that goes with this?" Mr Walker says.

"After looking at the modelling they'll be able to make an educated guess on what products that can take a hit on – with the supplier wearing the brunt of the cost – and what complementary products they may be able to increase. For example, many shoppers will buy bacon when they buy eggs."

By dropping prices on everyday products in store, Aldi is positioning itself as a key in-store shopping proposition during a time when its major competitors in Coles and Woolworths are investing heavily in contactless shopping and home delivery.

"The supermarket market in Australia is worth around $92 billion a year. The four main players are Woolies, Coles, Aldi and IGA in that order," Mr Walker said.

"Aldi have turned into a very profitable business and they've been very successful at tuning into mainstream, middle-class Australia."

READ MORE: The rise and rise of Aldi in Australia

Aldi Australia's Managing Director Oliver Bongardt said the supermarket stood by its promise to Australians that it will not be beaten on price.

"We began reducing the prices of our already price-leading products at the start of the pandemic, and these permanent reductions reaffirm our continued commitment that Aldi will never be beaten on the price of your weekly grocery shop," said Mr Bongardt.

"aldi has, for the last 20 years, delivered on its price promise to offer shoppers high quality products at low prices. We know we save Australian customers more than $2.4 billion every year, when compared to shopping at other supermarkets, and we intend to build on that."

headline

First flight in Australia's Afghanistan rescue evacuates 26 people

The Defence Force mission to evacuate Australians and Afghans from Taliban-controlled Kabul has begun, with the first flight out of Afghanistan evacuating 26 people.

The first flight landed in Kabul last night, with key personnel from the Department of Foreign Affairs on board to facilitate the evacuation.

The ADF has released photos and video from the delicate operation, which show the evacuees being boarded onto a plane on the tarmac at Kabul.

READ MORE: Taliban vow to honour women's rights but within Islamic law

The first 26 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan after the Taliban captured the country.The RAAF C-130J Hercules aircraft landed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul overnight and departed safely at around 1am local time, 18 August 2021.

The RAAF C-130J Hercules aircraft landed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul overnight and departed safely at around 1am local time.

"This is not a simple process," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a press conference today.

"It's very difficult for any Australian to imagine the sense of chaos and uncertainty that is existing across this country, the breakdown in formal communications, the ability to reach people."

The first flight took 26 people from Kabul to the United Arab Emirates this morning.

Evacuees on board the ADF aircraft on its way to the Middle East Base.Australian Defence Force personnel process the first evacuees from Kabul, Afghanistan at Australia's main base in the Middle East region.

"This will be done in as orderly fashion as is possible in the circumstances," he said.

"We need to be very clear who is getting on our planes, who is going to our base and going to come here and live in Australia."

More Australian planes will be heading to Afghanistan in order to get people out of the country.

Another C130 and two C17s will join the existing C130 making regular flights in and out of Kabul.

"I can confirm that security situation at the airport has improved and more broadly across Kabul," Mr Morrison said

"That is supported particularly by the presence of US and UK troops on the ground being able to take control of the airport."

The Federal Government is aiming to rescue 600 Australians and Afghan interpreters over coming days.

More than 250 Australian Defence Force troops are being sent to Afghanistan to help with evacuations.

Nine.com.au has contacted the Defence Department for comment.

Earlier today the Biden Administration said the United States will help Australia with its evacuation mission.

READ MORE: US ready to help Australia evacuate citizens, vulnerable Afghans

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told 9News at a White House briefing that the US was willing to work with Australia and other western countries to evacuate citizens and vulnerable Afghans facing persecution by the Taliban.

Kabul airport has reopened after thousands of people rushed the runways over the past two days, attempting to join the US Air Force evacuation flights.

But reports say Afghan residents travelling to airport face Taliban checkpoints along major roads.

headline

Telstra employees offered $200 worth of incentives to get vaccinated

Telstra employees are being offered $200 worth of incentives to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

CEO Andy Penn sent a message to employees on Monday to say that – starting with Australian workers – the company was working to encourage a "level of solidarity" when it came to getting the jab.

Employees who do will be given 200 "Appreciate points" – the equivalent of $200 which can be spent in Telstra's online store.

READ MORE: Australia COVID-19 vaccination rollout tracker

"Getting vaccinated will make an incredible difference – we can protect each other, lessen the financial hardship on families, and turnaround the toll on our wellbeing caused by the uncertainty and isolation from rolling lockdowns," Mr Penn said in his message.

"Now is the time to act – to roll-up our sleeves and get vaccinated, or make an informed decision so you are ready when supplies are available to you.

"I've had the jab and I know many of you have as well, but it is something I urge all of you to do, as soon as you can."

Mr Penn said the incentive would be applied retroactively to those who has already been vaccinated.

And in recognition of those who were not yet eligible in their jurisdictions, it is set to remain available until at least December 31.

READ MORE: Every other Aussie will soon have had first jab

Telstra has not yet made getting vaccinated a requirement for "certain roles", Mr Penn said.

"However, we will continue to consider relevant government and health advice, particularly for our people working in high-risk locations and with vulnerable people, such as aged care, hospitals and Indigenous communities," he said.

READ MORE: New Zealand COVID-19 infection came from NSW: Ardern

Mr Penn acknowledged that not all employees would feel the same way about the COVID-19 vaccine but urged everybody to be "respectful".

"Personally and as a company, we believe that being committed to getting people vaccinated is the right thing to do," he said.

A Telstra spokesperson said the initiative had been "universally applauded" by employees and there had been very high engagement.

headline

‘Nuts Man’ Praises Dept. of Agriculture for Its Peanut Cultivation

NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (August 17, 2021) — Charlestown’s popular peanut vendor Mr. Calvin “Nuts Man” Williams of Gingerland who sells parched and boiled peanuts outside of Best Buy Supermarket has given high marks to the Department of Agriculture’s venture into peanut cultivation.

Mr. Williams who has been the top purchaser of the local nuts spoke to the Department of Information on August 16, 2021, in an invited comment on the peanuts grown at Farms and Indian River Estates.

“I’ve been selling nuts a good 10-12 years now. I used to get them from St. Kitts and overseas before I started getting them in Nevis. I just started buying local and they all right for now. They’re good enough to sell. The quality is like what I used to get from overseas, no problem with them. People enjoy the nuts…

“I have to continue to buy local nuts. It’s scarce right now. You have to buy everything you get. The nuts them good, they’re good. People should buy them locally. I buy five bags for the first,” he said.

Meantime Mr. Steve Reid, Chief Extension Officer at the department, stated that there a few reasons favouring large-scale peanut production including the beneficial effects of the plant.

“We are in New River where we have a storage facility where we would put our nuts to dry. The Department of Agriculture has ventured into planting nuts on a large scale and this decision was made because of a number of reasons.

“Nuts is one of those crops which we consider to have beneficial effects on the soil and they call it soil fixing bacteria where the roots of nuts and other legume plants would fix nitrogen in the soil. It actually helps to build the soil,” he said.

Mr. Reid added that it was felt rather than going the expensive way of applying fertilizer to lands that have been under cultivation for many years, the peanut plant would help to restore the soil paving the way for optimum performance from crops planted on the estates in the future.

The Chief Extension Officer also stated that another consideration to cultivating peanuts was that of not competing with farmers.

“Our market here in St. Kitts and Nevis is quite small…Right now most of the farmers are supplying supermarkets with local products. So in order for the government not to conflict with any of the farmers we decided as well to produce a crop that is needed; the demand is there but no farmer is doing it,” he explained.

Mr. Reid revealed that the preliminary results of peanut cultivation on Nevis has shown that the crop is simple and quick with an easy turn around with a healthy demand for the nuts.

The senior agriculture officer said a few farmers have inquired about getting seeds to plant and the department is encouraging farmers to do so because of its many benefits.

“We are encouraging farmers to take part because we realise it is a crop that can store well, and it has high return value as in the costing, and so farmers if they are interested, they may be able to contact the department at a later stage where we would have seeds available because we are going to be having a revolving programme,” he said.

Mr. Reid added that all the nuts produced would not be sold for eating purposes. Some would be used for planting material and some for feeding livestock on the government owned farms.

“We are using the tops of the nuts along with the deformed or small unmarketable nuts to feed to the livestock animals, mostly the cows at Maddens Estate. Nuts are high in protein and it helps to build the muscles and bodies when we feed it to these cows it is just as a feeler but it helps with their nutrition,” he said.

 

 

 

The post ‘Nuts Man’ Praises Dept. of Agriculture for Its Peanut Cultivation appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

The R-Factor is the crucial figure keeping NSW in lockdown

There's one calculation health authorities around the world are using to determine the length of lockdowns, and as NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian hinted today, the state is some way from being on the right side of it.

The R-Number or R-Factor ("r" for "replication"), predicts the potential for disease spread in the community – that is, how many people one person with a disease could be reasonably expected to infect.

Ms Berejiklian said today that the R-Factor for COVID-19 in NSW showed that each person with the virus was spreading it at the moment to about 1.3 people.

A quiet Bondi Beach in Sydney.

READ MORE: Every other Aussie will soon have had first jab

Thus, today's 633 new cases could infect a further 822.9 people – 823 rounding up.

"We need that number to be below one," Ms Berejiklian said.

"We need to make sure that whoever has the virus doesn't spread it to anybody else."

How is the R-Factor calculated?

The first thing to know is that the R-Factor will differ between communities nationally and around the world.

The BBC reported earlier this year, as the UK was experiencing new cases in March, that people could expect to infect seven to nine other people – not unexpected given the UK's much denser population.

But that much higher figure preceded the first recorded case of the Delta variant in the UK by about a month.

The R-Number is a necessarily reactive figure, calculated through ongoing case numbers.

READ MORE: New Zealand COVID-19 infection came from NSW: Ardern

Contact tracing and hospitalisations provide the data for researchers to determine the spread of a disease.

As the New Scientist has reported, this retrospective data building means the data is imprecise – but it does indicate a worrying trend.

The R-Factor for measles in an unvaccinated population is estimated to be about 15 – another testament to the efficacy of vaccinations.

READ MORE: 'We haven't seen the worst of it': 633 new local cases in NSW

Ms Berejiklian was clear that bringing the R-Factor below 1.0 was key to reopening NSW.

"That's what will turn the corner," she said today.

"And until we hit that corner, we're going to see case numbers rise and the way we stop case numbers rising is stopping mobility."

headline

Nevis Tourist Authority’s Tribute to the Late Hon. Arthur Evelyn, First Min. of Tourism

NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (August 17, 2021) — The Nevis Tourism Authority joins the wider Nevisian community in mourning the passing of the first Minister of Tourism in the Nevis Island Administration, the Hon. Arthur Evelyn, who has died at the age of 93.

The Ministry of Tourism and the NTA offer our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues on the transition of this committed public servant. He will long be remembered for his dedication to enhancing the quality of life for those he served.

As a member of the Nevis Island Assembly from 1983 to 1992, Mr. Evelyn was appointed as the first Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Housing, Labour, and Tourism, serving until 1987. It was during his tenure that the first land reform programme in Nevis was implemented, giving the people of Nevis an opportunity to own land.

For his contributions to the development of Nevis and his dedication to its people, the Nevis Island Administration in 2010 renamed the Old Treasury building in his honour.

Mr. Evelyn has been an outstanding servant of the people in a number of areas and we are forever grateful for his leadership and immense contribution not only to tourism but also to various sectors of our economy.

His passion for service extended to the business community, where he served as a dentist and registered pharmacist for many years, addressing the healthcare needs of many Nevisians.

He has served the community with distinction as a founding member of the Nevis Turf and Jockey Club, an active contributor to the Mental Health Association, Culturama, The Lions Club, The Blind Light, and Visually Impaired Society, and the St. Paul’s Anglican Church Vestry. He was also a founding member of the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society and the Nevis Cooperative Credit Union.

His life has been an example of extraordinary service and we wish his immediate family and the wider tourism fraternity comfort in the days ahead, as we all reflect on a life well-lived.

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