Price and value

There's a persistent mindset amongst this country's important businessmen and women, that the lowest price wins the customer, not the best value. 

It's driven a cost-cutting culture across all our domestic consumer-facing suppliers, since, I'd guess, the 1990s. Supermarkets have forced down the price (and quality) of chickens, milk and eggs. Food price inflation peaked at 13% in 2008; it's been in negative territory since November 2020, and only just moved positive. A sliced white loaf, at 800gm was around £1.32 in 2013, and now sells around £1.06. Supermarkets and other entrants have driven down the price of clothing and footwear - and contributed to 'fast fashion' and more landfill. Buyers have been looking for savings in every part of the chain, and distribution costs have been a big target. No wonder we came to rely more and more on lorry drivers from Europe (much as our lower-level professional football teams rely on cheaper players from Europe). 

Warehousing is the fastest growing sector of the property market. Enough sheds to cover Hyde Park are in the pipeline this coming year. Last-mile delivery is the latest hot target, for drivers who don't have HGV licences, and are prepared to flog themselves round 100+ drops in a day.  One wonders if and when this gets a challenge in the courts (cf Uber). 

There's so much stuff an interventionist government could do here. Create new buses services by using the empty legs of half empty vans; revive the high street by rewarding collection points, and relieving them of business rates; making Yodel, Hermes, UPS, DPD collaborate on some core activities.  

Then consider the mentality behind low tenders for Government services, coming from Serco, Capita, train companies, PPE providers etc; the drive for cheaper and cheaper building products in local government procurement (Grenfell ?).   Maybe we should take more interest in the Government's next steps from their Green Paper on Public Procurement, where they talk about 'unleashing' something or other....