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00:00For decades, the big-name supermarkets have dominated the high street.
00:06A weekly shop for us is like way more than it was last year.
00:10But now the game has changed.
00:13Wallets are shrinking.
00:15Do you like a bargain? Is that a question that anybody needs to seriously answer?
00:20And prices are soaring.
00:22It's scary when I'm walking up to the tills.
00:25Enter the discount disruptors.
00:28We take on the supermarkets by removing the friction.
00:32It's Christmas!
00:34It costs a living crisis. It's affecting everybody.
00:37And we try and make it a little less painful.
00:40It's all about being cheaper than everyone else.
00:44They're making your shopping seductive.
00:47We'll take it to marketing and they will start to sexify it.
00:50Catching your eyeline byline.
00:52This is what's known as a shopper stopper.
00:54And tantalising your taste buds with the latest trend jacking.
00:57We sold 30,000 last week. Finger on the buzzer.
01:01Shall we be telling?
01:03Eh?
01:05I order from here.
01:07From budget brilliance.
01:09See these milkshakes for the kids there, a bargain.
01:11To next big things.
01:13This one is an all-time cracker.
01:15They're taking us beyond the shelves.
01:18Unlike the supermarkets, we're no fancy shelving.
01:20We're no big signs.
01:21It's no frills of us.
01:22And behind the scenes.
01:24This is where it all happens.
01:26It's a box of six bars for a panic.
01:29Yeah, I like it.
01:30To reveal the secrets of super cheap shopping.
01:34The bigger the sign, the cheaper the price, the more it's going to sell.
01:38You can beat the supermarkets.
01:39Coming up, a bulk buying warehouse where best before means bargain, not bin it.
01:53I love it.
01:54For me it's a thrill in the chase of the next product.
01:56Can I get that product cheaper?
01:57Can I get a bargain for our customers?
01:59Can I put a smile on someone's face?
02:01And the discount retailer with plenty to say about his latest giveaway.
02:06Keep filling up your basket.
02:08Get to the 75 quid and you'll then hit the next freebie.
02:11Just keep on going basically.
02:13The more you spend, the more we'll give you.
02:21With living costs at an all-time high,
02:24everyone's looking to save a buck or two.
02:26It's difficult.
02:27It's an expensive life.
02:29Yeah.
02:30People don't get that much money to spend and that.
02:33When I go in with, like, about £40 and that,
02:36I don't come out with nothing.
02:38But it's not just us shoppers who are feeling the squeeze.
02:41I feel like the items are getting smaller and you're paying more money.
02:45So, yeah, I don't think there's much value for money.
02:48With operational outgoings like wages, rent and shipping costs on the increase,
02:54retailers have to work hard to stay ahead.
02:57But one crafty company is breaking the mould.
03:01In Stockport, one retailer is taking on the supermarkets
03:11by using a variety of clever tactics to keep their outgoings low.
03:16Rogers Wholesale have a no-frills approach
03:19and flog best-before delights at a fraction of the cost.
03:23Welcome to Rogers Wholesale right here in Manchester.
03:25If you've never been to the UK's biggest-gone-pass festival warehouse before,
03:29where have you been? Get down and see us.
03:31By tapping into the power of social media and word of mouth,
03:34they have grown to become the largest wholesaler of their kind in the UK.
03:39And MD Mark King has even more plans afoot to bulk up his brands.
03:46This is our brand-new warehouse.
03:47This adds to our other three warehouses that we've got, obviously,
03:50in Poole, Plymouth and Wolverhampton.
03:53And the King's Empire seems to be growing and growing.
03:57We are looking to open another two warehouses, hopefully,
03:59within the next six months.
04:00With the cost-of-living crisis going on
04:02and it getting harder and harder for people,
04:04more and more people need these places.
04:07I'll bet you any money these are about 80 pence in the shops, all right?
04:10Not with Rogers, don't forget.
04:11Ignore the date, grab a bargain. That's what it's all about, all right?
04:15Basically, I used to work for somebody who we used to sell cheese
04:19and we used to go out and buy cheeses from different places.
04:23We would go to them and they would basically look up and say,
04:25well, look, I've got this fantastic cheese
04:27and it's 18 months past mature now, so it's basically a vintage cheddar.
04:31Have a try.
04:32We would try it and it would be absolutely fantastic.
04:34When we then took it back to our facility and then started cutting it up,
04:37the law states, obviously, that once you then put it down,
04:40we could only put three months' date on it.
04:41So it was really, really frustrating
04:43because often what it meant was there was a lot of wastage around that.
04:46And a date-driven discounting empire was born.
04:49What it did make me think was, well, hang on,
04:51if this is how this is now on this product,
04:54what about all the other products,
04:55especially products that are ambient and things like that,
04:57then this whole thing's a bit silly.
05:00It's all about the APs.
05:02That's ambient products, you know.
05:04They're the cool kids of food.
05:06They can sit in your cupboard and chill till you need them.
05:09Mark's built a business that aims to fight food waste,
05:12champion common sense and help customers snack smarter.
05:18So my philosophy with, obviously, best before is the three E's.
05:22So it's educate, so we're educating people about the product
05:25and then it's obviously to eradicate,
05:27so we're obviously trying to stop this from going to landfill
05:30and then enjoy because it's such a cheap price,
05:32why wouldn't you then enjoy it?
05:33It's quite catchy, that, Mark.
05:35But it's not just traditional dry cupboard staples
05:38that are safe beyond their best before date.
05:40So this is a really interesting one with mayonnaise
05:42in terms of education,
05:43because people get really worried about this kind of product
05:46because of, obviously, having eggs in it.
05:47So this, actually, though, is a pasteurised product
05:50and because it's an ambient product,
05:51it can effectively last weeks, months past its best before date.
05:54So even though it contains eggs,
05:56it can last up to a year after its best before date.
06:00And it's not just food that's packed onto pallets.
06:03What's the use by on water?
06:05Well, of course, when water comes out the ground in spring,
06:08I believe, and you might have to fact-check me,
06:10it's about four million years old when it comes out the ground,
06:13but when we put it in a bottle,
06:15it's only got, like, six months best before date.
06:19Does it sound mad?
06:20It does to me.
06:21But as mad as it may seem,
06:25it's the way it's packaged rather than the product itself
06:28that dictates the best before date.
06:31Whilst in the early days,
06:33Mark catered mainly for large families looking to buy in bulk,
06:36in recent years,
06:37he's noticed a shift in the type of shoppers seeking a snip.
06:41And he calls them jams.
06:43And I don't think he means the kind you spread on toast.
06:46One of the biggest customers that we have is the jams,
06:48so they're just about managing people.
06:50So these are generally people who have a job,
06:53two kids,
06:54really, really struggling at the moment,
06:56not really getting help with benefits,
06:58can't use places like food banks and things like that.
07:01But the great thing about Rogers is,
07:03anybody can come and shop here.
07:04So they can come and shop with us,
07:05and still be able to pay things like their mortgage,
07:07their electric bill,
07:09their ever-growing council tax bills and things like that.
07:11And that's the feedback that we're getting all the time.
07:2060 quid and you've got like,
07:22one and a half carrier bags and you're like,
07:24what have I got for 60 quid?
07:26I've got nothing.
07:27It's just impossible to live,
07:29you know,
07:30for heating and electric and all that.
07:32For many,
07:33buying in large quantities is the perfect solution.
07:36Well,
07:37we've seen the Kenco coffee.
07:42Oops,
07:43careful Larry.
07:44Here's what we've come for.
07:45Six of these,
07:47I think.
07:48I drink loads of this cappuccino.
07:51You'll be dancing on the ceiling with all that coffee.
07:54Cost you what?
07:55That costs...
07:56Yeah,
07:57that costs me a tenner.
07:58I'm saving at least four quid.
08:00Yeah.
08:01So it's that kind of price, isn't it?
08:02But these bulk buy bonanzas
08:04weren't always a big enough draw.
08:06In the early days,
08:07no-one would come anywhere near us.
08:09You know,
08:10I was seen as a bit of a maverick and a nutcase,
08:11you know,
08:12and now people trust and know the brand.
08:14How you doing now?
08:15You all right?
08:16Morning.
08:17How you doing?
08:18You all right there?
08:19How's it going?
08:20Seems like Mark's charm and discount food
08:21eventually won the naysayers' round.
08:23These customers,
08:24they come to me,
08:25they know me.
08:26They even stop me in town.
08:27They stop me in coffee shops.
08:29That used to happen to me all the time
08:30when I was in Corrie.
08:31How you doing, folks?
08:32You all right?
08:33Morning.
08:34Good, good.
08:35Yeah, not bad, not bad.
08:36I love it.
08:37For me, it's a thrill in the chase of the next product.
08:38Can I get that product cheaper?
08:39Can I get a bargain for our customers?
08:41Can I put a smile on someone's face?
08:43I think that,
08:44that's a thrill for me.
08:4920 miles up the road.
08:53Another discount disrupter
08:55has devised their own ways to sidestep soaring costs.
09:00Come back!
09:01Online retailer Discount Dragon
09:03deliver delicious deals
09:05to bargain-hungry families across the country.
09:09They keep prices low
09:10by buying in surplus and end-of-line products
09:13that might otherwise have ended up in landfill.
09:16Saving waste as well as our wallet.
09:19What's not to love?
09:20Rule number one, it's got to be a major brand.
09:25Do I think that would work as a special offer?
09:27Yes, absolutely.
09:28Every household needs it.
09:30Probably, what, five, six quid in the supermarket.
09:32They're coming on the website, they're seeing it,
09:34or spend 40 quid and get it for free.
09:37Unlike many discounters, the company have no physical stores,
09:46and all the sales are done through their website.
09:49You're in a good mood.
09:50Yeah, why wouldn't I?
09:51It's Tuesday.
09:52Every week, it's down to MD Wayne
09:54to pick the offers that will hit his online shelves.
09:57And one of his secrets for stealing supermarket customers is spaving.
10:02Hmm, that's a new one for me too.
10:04So one of our regular offers is the spend and gets that we do.
10:08I believe this is often referred to as spaving.
10:10We call it spend and get.
10:12It does what it says on the tin.
10:13You'll spend to get there, absolutely,
10:15but then you're going to get your freebie.
10:17These are to encourage a bigger basket,
10:20make the average order value bigger.
10:22And I just think it has generally a feel-good factor.
10:25You know, who doesn't like something for free?
10:27You've definitely caught my attention.
10:29There's actually three live at any one time.
10:32So the first one will get you free delivery.
10:34The second one we bring in at 40 quid,
10:36spend 40 quid and get your beauty set worth 13.50.
10:40Then we have a higher tier one, spend 100 quid.
10:42At the moment is this whiskey gift set worth 48.25.
10:47So all in all, if you're spending 100 quid with us right now,
10:51you're hovering around 68, 69 pounds saving.
10:54That's your spaving for today, spending and your saving.
10:59But even at bargain basement prices,
11:01some customers aren't always happy with what they get.
11:05So Zara has been brought in to Oversea Returns
11:08and she's heading up her very own department of one.
11:12Hi there, my name's Zara. I'm giving you a call from Discount Dragon.
11:16You recently made an order with us.
11:18I'm just making sure you get what you want.
11:21You're part of the bargain and then we make sure we're doing our job.
11:24No worries. Thank you. Take care. Bye-bye.
11:27Here we go. Positive outcome.
11:29But customer satisfaction isn't Zara's only motivation.
11:33Yeah, please, and then just let me know.
11:35I've got this job because I've got responsibilities now.
11:39I'm in my motherhood era. I'm a bunny mummy.
11:46This is Brambo. And then that's Elvis.
11:53She's a female called Elvis because she's got a quiff.
11:57Oh, lovely hair. See what I did there?
12:01On the factory floor, Wayne's checking out the latest stock
12:04and deciding what might tempt customers to part with their pennies
12:07in this week's spaving promotion.
12:10Ah, right, half walk. Ah, right.
12:13Right, all right, no worries.
12:14The spending get at £40 generally does the best for us.
12:18And now what we've also started doing is layering on another one at £75,
12:21so spend your £40, get the beauty bundle,
12:24whatever it may be on offer that day.
12:27And setting thresholds like this is known as anchoring
12:30because, given the option, we feel anchored to spend £50 to save a tenner.
12:34Be a waste of money not to, eh?
12:36Keep going, keep going, keep filling up your basket,
12:39get to the £75 and you'll then hit the next freebie.
12:42Just keep on going, basically.
12:44The more you spend, the more we'll give you.
12:48We might be sick of seeing Easter eggs in January,
12:51Halloween spooks in June and Christmas biscuits in August,
12:55but Wayne's team buy and sell seasonal goods all year round
12:58to save their customers money.
13:01Ironically, we're in the middle of summer.
13:03It's a festive mixed pack and you might say,
13:05well, will people buy Christmas beer in the summer?
13:08Let me tell you, yes, they do.
13:10You can see here there's really only one heavily featured Christmas item,
13:14but what would happen to this if we weren't buying it?
13:17Well, I think there's a high chance it's getting poured down a sink, basically.
13:21I believe they are earmarked to go on a spend and get in the next few days
13:25and I would expect that once that comes and goes, these are all gone.
13:29But if shoppers don't go for it,
13:31Wayne could be stuck with a warehouse full of unwanted Christmas cheer.
13:35Coming up, the Daddy of Discount is branching out.
13:42I still get a buzz out of seeing this new store operation
13:46and in my lifetime I've probably opened at least 400 stores.
13:50Wayne's wishlist of boozy bargains.
13:53We've got Vodka 1, Vodka 2,
13:55and then on the bench we've got the Prosecco, so only alcohol.
13:59Yep.
14:01And the cup-price king shares his secrets of the super cheap.
14:05Keep it simple, keep it so that the customer gets it,
14:08keep it so the customer can understand
14:09and they know what they're going to get for their money.
14:11Keep it simple, stupid.
14:20Across the nation, baskets are getting smaller
14:23but shopping bills bigger.
14:25Just astronomical, honest to God, it's going up every week.
14:30You go in, prices are changing all the time.
14:33It's just getting to a point where you can't afford half the stuff.
14:36The traditional multiple retailers are quite expensive,
14:39so if you shop around you can save quite a lot of money.
14:42Opening at a rate of roughly 19 stores per year since they launched in 2019,
14:53One Beyond have become the UK's fastest growing retailer of their kind.
14:59And over at their Barnsley warehouse,
15:01preparations are in full swing for the launch of their latest branch
15:05in Belle Vale near Liverpool.
15:07All what you see here is going to a shop, one shop,
15:10and it gets put in a row, ready to go.
15:14But no shop is profitable without customers.
15:26So local printer, Neil Ebbage...
15:29Are we filming now? Yeah.
15:30Are we?
15:32..is helping create a buzz with some in-store collateral.
15:37That's fires to you and me.
15:39So this will make an A3 sheet, and then once it goes up to the folder,
15:42it'll fold it in half into an A4 sheet.
15:44If you saw it, you'd think, oh, yeah, it's quite nice, is that?
15:47Instead of, like, a dull colour, flat colour.
15:49Do you know, cos that's quite a distinctive blue,
15:51and it's got a bright yellow, so it stands out, it punches out, out, yeah.
15:55So quite glossy, quite bright, and it just draws attention.
15:59And there's a paddling pool up that page, £9.99, 28 degrees, bargain.
16:05Unfortunately, we've got no spike band on,
16:07so I don't know how you're going to film them up.
16:09And whilst he cracks on with spreading the word,
16:12one A3 sheet at a time,
16:14chairman Chris Edwards is overseeing the new shop-fitting plans
16:18at his 250,000-square-foot distribution centre.
16:22Just had leaflets, guys. New store, open it.
16:28Hot off the press, the new marketing materials have arrived.
16:32This is just one of the leaflets that we do for every new shop.
16:36And this is one that's happening in Belleville, near Liverpool.
16:41And what we've got is just a very broad section of what we sell.
16:45A lot of stuff is just for a pound,
16:47and we hand these out in the shopping centre where the store is.
16:51And very rarely do we ever not open a store with a queue.
16:54You know, people are curious because of the kind of store that it is,
16:58which is a mixed bag.
16:59And the hope is that by tempting customers in with discount deals,
17:03their average basket spend will increase,
17:06which helps cover the costs of their cheaper items.
17:09A lot of this on this leaflet, a lot of it is food and sweets,
17:12but we do, obviously, that's only a small proportion.
17:15And while they're in there buying this lot of stock,
17:17they're in there buying a charger or batteries or all the other stuff we sell.
17:23So it's all just part of what we do.
17:26I still get a buzz out of seeing this new store operation
17:29and what we've done.
17:30And in my lifetime, I've probably opened at least 400 stores,
17:34maybe nearly 500 stores.
17:36But it's still seen when you see the new leaflet,
17:38you see the date on it and you're here again.
17:41You're still doing it.
17:42It stops you getting bored.
17:44Supply chain coordinator, Philippa,
17:47has been charged with sorting the FFE.
17:50That's fixtures, fittings and equipment.
17:52Hiya.
17:53You all right?
17:54Just looking for stock.
17:55Is it any stock being picked for Bell Bale here, yeah?
17:58So this is all your POS bits.
18:00Right.
18:01So your till rolls and stuff like that.
18:03Edders.
18:04Just everything you need for the shop that's not the sellable bits.
18:08So some of this is your shopping baskets, your shelving.
18:12Then the delivery of the stock starts.
18:14And it probably will need about five or six deliveries to fill a shop up.
18:19I think this is going out on Tuesday.
18:20So later this week, this will all get moved on to dispatch,
18:23ready to go onto a wagon straight down to Bell Vale.
18:26In the main, we can take the keys of a shop, get it shop fit,
18:29get it filled up with stock in opening
18:31within somewhere between two and three weeks.
18:34And with hundreds of shops under his belt,
18:37the process of opening shops is easy peasy.
18:40It's just an event.
18:42We just get on with it.
18:43And it happens.
18:44And I'm good to say I'm on the outside looking in and say,
18:47oh, it just happens.
18:49People like this work their art out to make it happen.
18:52And Philippa's not the only one working her heart out.
18:59Back in Wigan, Wayne's crunching the numbers
19:02and working out which products they can afford to feature
19:05in this week's spaving promotion.
19:07Obviously, when you're giving an item away for free,
19:12you know, there's a cost involved to that to the business.
19:15We don't get these items for free.
19:17We buy them in the same way that we buy any item on the website.
19:20We'll have a planning meeting, which I'm going to have shortly,
19:22and let's get the next seven days planned together.
19:26And whilst he's preparing for his meeting,
19:29rookie Sara is still finding a way round the cavernous 40,000-foot warehouse
19:34and it's stacked to the rafters with bargain bounty.
19:40This is all the stock, all the pickers, the packers.
19:43I've done, like, stock-taking and stuff,
19:45but I've never worked on this scale.
19:48Yeah, it seems absolutely massive to me.
19:51It's just pallets and pallets of items and products and everything.
19:58Known as mass procurement,
20:00the huge variety of stock sometimes tempts the staff
20:03as well as the customers.
20:05I do want to try that new mayonnaise, what I've just seen.
20:08Monster Munch. I'd like to try that.
20:12There might be a huge warehouse to choose from,
20:14but for Wayne and Tom,
20:16deciding which items to promote in their spaving deal
20:19takes careful consideration.
20:22Right, I just wanted to see the plan for the spending gets this week.
20:26Obviously, we need one at 40 quid.
20:28Mm-hm. And then 75 to 100,
20:31cos the whisky did really well at 100, didn't it?
20:33Yeah.
20:34Higher-end spaving products create the free effect
20:37and feel like a bargain that's too good to miss.
20:40But if the freebie doesn't land with the punters,
20:43all the planning and marketing is wasted manpower.
20:47We discussed on the call this morning the marmalade vodka.
20:50Yeah, worth a go.
20:51Yeah, we've got the marmalade vodka.
20:53Erm, I don't know what else we've got.
20:55It's the high end, it's so hard to fill.
20:57You've got that vodka there. Yeah, that's a good one.
21:00My only concern is that when it's two vodkas,
21:04if it fails, do you want to put another vodka in there,
21:06knowing that the first one failed?
21:09We've still got the Prosecco in.
21:11There on the subs bench.
21:13Yeah, the Prosecco's in.
21:14Are they warming up?
21:15The Prosecco's been warming up for a couple of weeks now.
21:18Warm face?
21:19Oh, that'll never catch on, Wayne.
21:21Just can't get a game, can I?
21:23I know, yeah, he's trying his hardest.
21:25I'd go with the marmalade vodka.
21:27If that flops, I'd bring that off the bench before the other vodka.
21:30That's a £75 threshold, yeah? Yeah.
21:32Yeah.
21:33Just to wrap it all up and sum it up, we've got vodka one, vodka two,
21:36then on the bench we've got the Prosecco, so only alcohol for now.
21:41I think with that plan, with the stock levels as well,
21:43that should cover us for the rest of the week.
21:45You might want to add some paracetamol to that list.
21:51Meanwhile, in Stockport,
21:53Rogers have a totally different approach to discount Dragon.
21:57Instead of marketing and sexifying goods online,
22:00their warehouse is open to buyers who can come and grab what they want.
22:04But this is not your usual supermarket shopping experience.
22:09We're no fancy shelving, we're no big signs,
22:11there's no frills of us.
22:12It's literally left on the pallet.
22:14Products are actually made to sit in warehouses
22:16for quite a long, long time.
22:18That's why we can manage to keep it cheap, keep it simple
22:21and also still pay the overheads.
22:24We have no music playing because we don't want to pay
22:26for an expensive PRS licence.
22:28Keeping costs low is music to my ears.
22:31Well, not in this case.
22:33We don't have any heating, so in the winter you need to wear your coat,
22:36but the good thing is the drinks are chilled for free
22:38and obviously in the summer it can be quite warm in here,
22:40we don't have air conditioning.
22:42Here, presentation is more gritty than glossy.
22:45So there's efficiencies in everything we do
22:47because if you had to put this out on the shelf,
22:49you're going to be taking this out,
22:51you're going to be paying a member of staff to shelf stack this.
22:53We don't bother with any of that.
22:54We literally push the product into place.
22:56And this SRP, that shelf ready packaging to you and me,
23:00offers a cheap and cheerful way to present their wares.
23:03We take out a couple so the customer can see what they're having
23:06and it's as quick as setting the product out,
23:08showing you what you've got and then we move on.
23:10By keeping out going slow,
23:12his back-to-basics approach helps keep prices low.
23:16See these milkshakes for the kids there, a bargain.
23:18Yeah, we've got cupboards full of it.
23:20Kids come round, we don't give them a milkshake,
23:22we give them a bag of it.
23:23Take it home and do it yourself.
23:25Keep it simple, keep it so that the customer gets it,
23:28keep it so the customer can understand
23:30and they know what they're going to get for their money.
23:32Keep it simple, stupid. Simple as that.
23:36And whilst customers appreciate the simple approach,
23:39his competitors have got different ideas.
23:42I don't think we're necessarily liked in the wholesaling industry
23:44because we're not like other wholesalers
23:46in respect that we don't need to know anything about our customer.
23:49We're not asking them to be a member,
23:50we're not asking them to shop at certain times
23:52and you know, with us, the price you see is the price you pay.
23:55All I want to know is you come in and you've got a means of payment
23:58and that's all I require.
23:59By tearing up the rule books,
24:01Mark is able to compete with the supermarkets
24:04whilst others have failed.
24:06Have I broken the mould?
24:07Well, if I have, I don't know whether that makes me a genius.
24:09I don't know, I don't get it.
24:11But personally, it works for us, it works for our customers
24:14and that's what it's about.
24:15We're open, of course, seven days a week.
24:17We will see you soon at Rogers Hotel,
24:18so come down and see us.
24:19Thank you guys for watching.
24:24Coming up, we get the gleaners in.
24:27It's a way to use surface product.
24:29It would go to waste otherwise.
24:31Niall hits a snag, trialling the latest tech.
24:34I've just noticed it says marmal, marmalade, oromet.
24:40Got to keep an eye on the wording really.
24:42AI can mess it up a little bit.
24:45And Chris reflects over his decades of discount dealing.
24:49I came across this picture.
24:52That's the original market stall where it all started.
25:03Getting your five a day from the big name supermarkets doesn't come cheap,
25:07with the average Brit spending over £400 a year on fruit and veg.
25:12All the prices are going up.
25:13A tin of sweetcorn, it's £2.
25:15And it's like, you could use to be able to get that for £60.
25:18My supermarket vegetables is too high.
25:22You're trying to encourage people to be healthy, but you're making it a little bit inaccessible.
25:26The price of them is slowly increasing.
25:29And these are stuff that, you know, we need to eat to be healthy and to have balanced diets.
25:33But we can't.
25:35One solution growing in popularity is gleaning.
25:47And clubs are springing up across the country, which help connect people like me and you with farmers like Chris Molyneux.
25:54It must be at least 10 years we've been gleaning now.
25:57It just helps everybody.
25:59He'll let you have his surplus crops for free, as long as you're happy to get down and dirty and pick it yourself.
26:06It's a way to use surplus product. It would go to waste otherwise.
26:13Jay Godden is the coordinator of a gleaning club in Lancaster.
26:17So we've seen demand kind of been steadily increasing since 2021, really.
26:22We're not a food bank. We run a membership model, so people pay a weekly fee to access what we do.
26:28But it's cheaper than the supermarket.
26:32The idea is that a lot of the kale that we've got here is not going to be harvested.
26:37There's too much of it.
26:39So we bring some volunteers in, we pick as much as we can, and then we redistribute that into the community.
26:45He organises teams of volunteers to collect kale both for themselves and their fellow members.
26:51We'll be going for this curly kale.
26:57We can be pretty picky about what we're getting.
26:59Obviously, we've got like a whole acre here and we're not going to be picking all of that.
27:03So something that sort of size is probably fine at the small end, maybe that kind of at the larger end.
27:10Sounds good.
27:11OK, fab. Let's do it.
27:12It's estimated that over a million tonnes of fruit and veg is wasted each year on UK farms.
27:22I think there's about an acre and a half here we've had to leave, which isn't so bad really considering.
27:26Yeah.
27:27We've had some decent weather now.
27:28Yeah.
27:29And we've got loads of crops though, and so it's the...
27:32So you have to plan, assuming that the weather's going to be bad, because you still need to be making a living even if it's a bad year, don't you?
27:38So then if the weather's good...
27:39You just don't know, you just don't know.
27:41You can get 50 cent more or 50 per cent less or just nothing.
27:45Yeah.
27:46I mean, last year we didn't have a crop, so you make sure you've got enough to cook yourself.
27:49And of course, you're guaranteed nature's going to go, do you know what?
27:51We're going to have loads this year, which is where you guys come in.
27:54Yeah. Well, we appreciate it.
27:55Yeah.
27:59For volunteers like Kath, going field to fork isn't just about filling her plate.
28:04I love coming for the gleans because it's fun to be outside and doing something useful.
28:08And there are a lot of people who don't have access to good quality food for various reasons.
28:13Despite today's kale force winds, the volunteers have been outstanding in their fields.
28:20It's been a really good day today.
28:22We've already got about 30 or so crates like this, 30, 40, but the sun's out,
28:27so we're going to have our sandwiches and then back to it, finish filling up the van.
28:36Whilst Chris's kale was fresh from the field, back at Butts Mill,
28:40it's freebies of a different kind on offer.
28:43AI novice Niall has been charged with designing the online promo.
28:49So I'm just doing a vodka marmalade promotion.
28:52So this is going on the free on us when you spend 85.
28:56They might have 200,000 website visitors a month, but it's all about the purchase, not the ponder.
29:03So it's down to the marketing team to make those click-grade conversions.
29:08Create an image.
29:10Similar to this, please.
29:12Similar to this, please.
29:14Always use your manners with AI, because you don't know when it's going to come back and get you.
29:18Looks like out of Madam T-shirts.
29:20Have it on a white background.
29:25See what I like?
29:26Look, the detail, the water.
29:28Oh, yeah, yeah, see.
29:29The workflow is actually on an angle, yours isn't?
29:31Yeah.
29:32And the handle is pretty good there.
29:33Might have got me though.
29:34Might have got me.
29:35I've just noticed it says, I'm not even going to try and say this, marmalade oromet.
29:42And AI blunders like this, known as a model drift, can quickly turn designs into disasters.
29:49So, got to keep an eye on the wording, really.
29:52AI can mess it up a little bit.
29:54Who's is better?
29:55Rachel, come on.
29:57Get involved.
29:58What are we thinking?
29:59Left, me, right, AI.
30:02I actually think the first one.
30:04This one?
30:05The left one?
30:06That hand does not look real.
30:07No, no, that's the problem with AI.
30:08It's lacking in the real hand.
30:11Happy?
30:12I'm happy, yeah.
30:13I'm going to go with mine.
30:16Looks like brains have beat bites in this round of man versus machine.
30:24Whilst Niall is relying on AI to get product out the door, over in Liverpool, One Beyond
30:30are counting on customers coming through theirs.
30:33They've been popping up on our high streets and retail parks since 2019.
30:38I'm doing well.
30:39We only came in here for one thing and we end up with half a shop.
30:44And whilst most retailers are closing their physical stores, Chairman Chris Edwards is expanding,
30:51opening about two new shops a month.
30:54We've got a hundred and odd shops now and we're just making the decision should we go forward with more shops or should we stay where we are or should we pack it in.
31:04And my boat was we'll carry on opening shops, that's the only thing I know.
31:09I haven't had no plan to retire, I couldn't think of anything worse.
31:13You've got to keep the brain cells working, otherwise you'd get all too quick.
31:18He's been brought up around his family's market stall since he was eight.
31:22It's safe to say discount dealing is in his blood.
31:26That's the original market stall where it all started.
31:30Chris's discount, I'm very proud of that name, he looks a bit ragged.
31:33I mean a lot of stuff on there which you can't really make out is still in our shops to this day.
31:38The sellotape, 13 amp plugs, buckets, bowls, umbrellas, double adapters, kettles.
31:44And bear in mind that was probably the early 70s.
31:48We're still selling the same bloody stock.
31:50That's how much imagination we haven't got.
31:53Whilst Chris reminisces about the past,
31:5660 miles down the road in Liverpool,
31:59it's all about the future as Chris's latest store is just hours away from opening.
32:05You want to just concentrate on tidying all this station wheel for me all the way down for us if you would.
32:09Just make sure it's all as it was all the way down, yeah?
32:13They've only had two weeks to make sure the store's customer ready.
32:18Chris is coming, so yeah, it's a bit of a pressure but it's one unwelcoming.
32:24With everything to consider, from merchandising to staff badges,
32:29retail rollout is a massive job.
32:32Right, unfortunately this is our office.
32:34It's not the best but hey-ho.
32:38At the back of the house,
32:39Assistant Manager Jackie has been charged with training the 15 new starters.
32:44Everyone got one? Got an induction pass?
32:47Before we get started, I want to say welcome to One Beyond.
32:52Absolute brilliant company to wait for.
32:54Somebody's after a pay rise.
32:56Do more tool training now?
32:58Is that what you're waiting for? Yeah, okay.
33:01It's all hands on deck, known as snagging in retail.
33:04There's no room for hiccups.
33:06The smoother the prep, the slicker the launch.
33:09We've got more tool training going on and then we've got more inductions being done downstairs.
33:13So by 10 o'clock we'll be absolutely ready.
33:16And with Chris arriving any second and scarcely any customers outside, Kev's feeling the heat.
33:24It's only early though, isn't it? School holders.
33:27Where's everybody else?
33:29It's all the girls.
33:31Just from downstairs, even in the canteen, all the toilets.
33:34Are the till codes working yet?
33:36I don't know, to be honest. I look just what I need.
33:39There's a few people here now.
33:4412 o'clock it'll be round.
33:45Yeah, it will.
33:46With the kids being on holiday, there's a lot of families in the area, isn't there?
33:49So everyone's going to sort of be up later and then they'll come out shopping in the afternoon.
33:52So it will be a slow burner, but it'll be busy in the afternoon.
33:54Yeah, it will be. Definitely.
33:56You don't sound too confident about that, Kev.
34:01Coming up, the troops arrive with a special delivery.
34:05Hail for everyone!
34:07The chief.
34:10Niall puts AI to the ultimate test.
34:14Bit of a tan.
34:15Just make him overall better.
34:21And nerves are running high at the Liverpool launch day.
34:25Yeah, we're all ready to go, looks a bit.
34:27So fingers crossed we're going to be busy today, I hope.
34:37It's been a 40 mile trip for the kale that's been foraged by the lean, mean, gleaning machines on the Molyneux farm.
34:50Now, it's finally arrived at the Lancaster Larder Food Club.
34:54We're currently setting up tables so that our members can all sit together.
34:59We like to make it an informal place and provide cheap, accessible, healthy food for members of our local community.
35:09Managed by mighty matriarch Catherine, it's one of several food clubs across North Lancashire.
35:16I have muscles packed by the end of tonight.
35:18With up to 70 people expected through the door, she relies on her army of volunteers.
35:23Maureen, Boz, it's not usually me just doing all of this.
35:27Theresa, Boz, can I have a couple of empty green trays please?
35:31So, what's on the menu today?
35:36Kale for everyone.
35:37This week we have kale which has been gleaned.
35:40We also have mushrooms and peppers, potatoes.
35:44Lots of things that will make good healthy food.
35:46The kale that we have is much better valued than supermarkets
35:49because here people take exactly what they need.
35:52It's often wonky but it's always fabulous and fresh.
35:57Thanks to Jay and his glean team, the food club never quite know what fresh produce will arrive next.
36:03Every week it changes so when the food comes in, everybody has no idea what they're going to get
36:08so it's always a really big surprise.
36:10We have fresh tomatoes, we have celery.
36:14The club collects surplus food from local food businesses such as supermarkets, food manufacturers and wholesalers.
36:21Just all sorts of things, it's different every week.
36:24And a pick and mix of ingredients results in some inventive outcomes.
36:29We share recipes between each other.
36:31Lots of people come up with lots of ideas including chocolate avocado cake which went down quite well.
36:38Not a good use of avocados.
36:40Yes.
36:41You'll pay for this week.
36:43The centre operates on a membership basis and all for a bargain price of a fiver a week.
36:49It's much expensive for me in the supermarket but here everything is very cheap.
36:57The value we get for our money is absolutely ridiculous to be honest.
37:01I mean it's enough for me to live on for the week which is just amazing.
37:06And if you fancy getting involved, organisations like Family Action coordinate food clubs across the country.
37:12But it's not just a bargain members come for.
37:15You let your gummy eat and socialise with everybody.
37:18You can get a cup of tea and a piece of cake and sit and talk.
37:24Five!
37:25We'll start calling people up so they can come and choose from what we have got this evening.
37:32Would you like some kale?
37:33Yes, please.
37:34I am getting so much food for £5.
37:37That would get me two or three items in a supermarket.
37:40I have this shopping trolley and I go home with it full.
37:44And whilst Jay's fresh kale is delighting some.
37:47Ah, perfect.
37:48Thank you very much.
37:50Others might need more convincing.
37:52I've never had kale ever.
37:54What?
37:55Yeah.
37:56I've been told to try it.
38:02And whilst Jay and co are a not-for-profit enterprise, 40 miles up the road in Wigan,
38:07booming business Discount Dragon are analysing theirs.
38:11Yay.
38:12MD Wayne is nervously eyeing up the figures and working out whether his gamble on using marmalade
38:17vodka as the giveaway has paid off.
38:19I don't think it was our worst performing one.
38:21Considering it was so niche, it just kind of performed right down the middle.
38:26And maybe the wrong time of year for that.
38:27You know that could be more festive, the orange thing.
38:33So we brought the marmalade vodka in at the £85 threshold.
38:37So we took whisky off and we brought marmalade vodka in.
38:40And we saw on the 8th of July when we brought it in, that our average orders over £100 were 4.5%, compared to our average orders over £100 with the whisky which was 8%.
38:52So we quickly took the marmalade vodka off and put the whisky back on because we found it was much more effective.
38:57Not a wasted exercise.
38:58If we were continuing with the spending gets I don't think that would feature again.
39:01You know we're putting our necks on the line giving away a high cost item.
39:06We're respecting the item but I don't think the item showed us any respect back.
39:09You know it didn't say I'm going to go out there and get you these orders.
39:12Looks like buyers weren't feeling fruity this week.
39:15Next door, this mischief in the air.
39:23If I really wanted to, I could sexify Wayne, that's how good this software is.
39:28Not that it would take much work, obviously.
39:31I'd obviously have him looking his best on a vacation, a nice tropical beach somewhere.
39:36I'll speak of the devil.
39:39Talking about sexifying you when Sarah thinks you'd look good on a beach.
39:43Looks like Niall is running with this.
39:47The chief.
39:49Right.
39:51Back in five.
39:53It better be good.
39:55I'm trying to sexify Wayne.
39:57Like what exactly do you want it to do?
39:59Give him a good hairline.
40:04I love our moustache, yeah.
40:06Without showing him Peck's bit of a tan.
40:10Just make him overall better than what he is today.
40:18Please.
40:23The suspense is killing me.
40:25You and me both.
40:27Must be internet.
40:28Must be an hard job for it.
40:32Brilliant.
40:33What's up?
40:34Have you checked your what's up?
40:35No.
40:36Please be on the low.
40:37Are you happy with that, yeah?
40:38Are you happy with it?
40:39So it's actually me?
40:40Magic.
40:41Well, I've got a tash.
40:42I know.
40:43That's it.
40:44Handlebar.
40:45It's how you say it.
40:46It works, doesn't it?
40:47Yeah, yeah.
40:48Get a wig.
40:49Bang on, innit?
40:50Oh, Wayne.
40:51Lovely handlebars.
41:12Back in Liverpool, it's a big day for Chris and One Beyond.
41:16As they prepare for the grand opening in less than an hour.
41:19Danielle's going outside to the front entrance now.
41:21Yeah, Danielle's doing leaflets.
41:25Everything's finally in place after a hectic two-week turnaround.
41:29But they're bracing themselves for the arrival of their meticulous chairman, Chris Edwards.
41:34Very, very detail-centric, so I think as he's going around,
41:37he really has got that keen eye for detail.
41:39He wouldn't be where he is without that skill.
41:42So I'm really looking forward to hearing his feedback as well,
41:45looking for anything that we can obviously improve on.
41:47But I'm relatively confident we've nailed this one today.
41:52And having opened over 400 shops in his time,
41:55he knows exactly what it takes to get it right.
41:59When you're in a business like this, you've got to be on the ball with everything.
42:01That's just running a business and there's nothing new.
42:04Yeah, we're all ready to go, the looks of it.
42:06So, fingers crossed.
42:10We're going to be busy today, I hope.
42:12You're not alone in that, Chris.
42:14Love a walk round, Chris, see where we're up to.
42:16Go on, let's see what we've got.
42:20Stocking everything from water guns to washing powder.
42:23If it ain't broke, don't fix it, is the approach to all new stores.
42:29So I really like this from the, obviously the latest promotion,
42:32we've kind of pushed all these £1 products in front of the store.
42:35We're absolutely lovely and full tidy, fully priced, lovely and clean.
42:39I think it's the range on like every, oops, sorry, everyday essential products.
42:43And using economies of scale, Chris sources products at the lowest possible prices.
42:50How are they going now?
42:51Oh, it's absolutely sensational.
42:52Other competitors, they're more expensive.
42:54It's lovely chocolate as well.
42:55Has anybody actually counted how many items at this?
42:59I know we've got seasonal items that come in due course and all that stuff,
43:03but today, when you look at a shop like this, how many items will we have?
43:07Talk about putting them on the spot.
43:10Has anybody thought how many thousand?
43:12Yeah, 7,000, maybe 8,000.
43:147,000.
43:15Nailed it.
43:18Yeah, that's nice.
43:19So far, yes, it's looking good, yeah.
43:22We're very proud.
43:25You can never tell whether it's going to be a good shop or a bad shop
43:27until you actually get open, get over the first two or three weeks
43:30when the newness wears off,
43:32and see what you're taking to see whether we've made a good choice or not.
43:35You know, it's a bit nervy because if we're in a different shopping centre,
43:38it'd be buzzing outside by now, but we're at half past nine,
43:42and it's a bit quiet, you know, so it'll all come together, hopefully.
43:48It amazes me how we can reach a standard, you know, in such a short time,
43:52and we're just ready to go, and it looks good to me.
43:56It's instinct, but you need good people,
43:58like we're talking here with these two fellas, you know.
44:02You need good people behind you.
44:03You can't do it all yourself.
44:05This is what we'll aim to look like every day now.
44:07When I come back in two weeks, well, it'll still look the same.
44:10Well, that's the challenge, isn't it, I think, obviously.
44:11That's the manager's challenge.
44:13Yeah, that is, always.
44:16Looks like smiles all round.
44:18They're filling me with a lot of confidence.
44:20As far as management's concerned, they haven't got one problem.
44:23I'm sure they'll pull it off.
44:24If the people's out there, for us to pull it off, we need people.
44:28We are now 15 minutes still open,
44:31so the tension's building now, we're all getting excited.
44:33Just enough time to squeeze in a rousing pep talk.
44:38Good morning, everyone.
44:39They've done an absolutely incredible job.
44:42We look the part, the shop's the part.
44:44Chris has given us the nod of approval.
44:46Just remember that real hard work starts now the second we open those doors.
44:49The most important people in the business for us
44:52will walk through the doors, and that's our customers.
44:57Like any new store, their success is determined by the ring of the tills,
45:02and a healthy crowd has finally formed, awaiting the grand reveal.
45:07So we don't have to try.
45:08That'll be great.
45:10OK, we're now open.
45:11A surge of savvy shopping scousers hoping to bag a bargain or two.
45:21It's great, yeah, it looks nice, yeah.
45:23Tired, yeah.
45:24Yeah.
45:25We need to fight for every penny, really.
45:28You know, there's a lot of competition around.
45:30We just need to keep it going and, you know,
45:32make people feel welcome every time they come in.
45:34This is another example of an old customer coming back.
45:38Not old, old, I mean...
45:40..ex-customer.
45:41I don't know what you meant.
45:43Need a spade, Kev?
45:45Every penny counts now.
45:47Every penny counts.
45:49I mean, everything's, you know, so expensive,
45:52but when you've got a store like this, it's worth coming into.
45:56Finally, Kev can breathe a sigh of relief.
45:59Really good response of people.
46:01They're happy with the range of lines we've got in store,
46:05and they've been making quite a lot of purchases.
46:07It's been nicely steady all morning.
46:09Chris is even doing a bit of merchandising there, yeah?
46:13Since we've reopened after Pound World,
46:17the high street is definitely different.
46:20It's a lot more low-key, it's not the same,
46:22but it's customers out there, if you're giving them a value for money.
46:25And cheaper prices mean happy customers.
46:29At the moment, I've only picked a dog bone up.
46:32And happy pets.
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