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secrets of supercheap shopping s01e02 skyfire
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00:02For 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. Wallets are shrinking.
00:15Do you like a bargain? Like, 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.
00:26Enter the discount disruptors.
00:28We take on the supermarkets by removing the friction.
00:32It's Christmas!
00:34Across the 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 by line.
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 told?
01:05I order from here.
01:07From budget brilliance.
01:09See these milkshakes for the kids? They're a bargain.
01:11To next big things.
01:13This one is an all-time cracker.
01:15They're taking us beyond the shelves.
01:18I don't like the supermarkets. We're no fancy shelving. We're no big signs. It'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. Yeah, 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.
01:39You can beat the supermarkets.
01:47Coming up, independent greengrocer Simon reveals his tricks of the trade
01:53as he battles the supermarket just metres away.
01:56This is what's known as a shopper stopper.
01:57We call it a sensory shopping.
01:59Another term that we use is high line, buy line.
02:02The former boss of Poundworld shows us more of his tricks of the trade.
02:06This is a AA battery. There's 10 on there and we retail it for 125.
02:10And the sales super weapon one discount retailer uses to attract customers.
02:16We call it a treasure chest. We sell it for 30 quid.
02:19You don't know what you're going to get.
02:20The value in there can be anything up to 100, 150 quid.
02:28We're all looking for ways to save money.
02:31And alternative supply chains can make that possible.
02:34Up and down the UK, food wholesalers hold surplus supplies
02:39that the supermarkets cannot shift.
02:42Savvy shop owners snap this stock up to help keep their prices low.
02:47But if these hungry trailblazers are going to have a chance of competing
02:51with the likes of Tesco and Aldi, they need to remember that the early bird catches the worm.
02:56Or should that be Apple?
02:58I'm just arriving. I try and get here as early just before we start to open up.
03:01It's 3am at the Yorkshire Produce Centre in Leeds.
03:05And green grocer Simon Fishwick is doing what he does six days a week.
03:10Hunting for sweet, sweet bargains.
03:13And FIFO is the name of the game.
03:14What we're trying to do is first in first out really.
03:17I want to get the gear bought, get it onto the van, back to the shop.
03:20Let's have it flashed up before mums are walking their kids to school.
03:23And that way you've got opportunity then for getting it out,
03:25getting it sold straight away.
03:27I like to come in, have a little wander round,
03:29see what's coming through the night, get an eye for the buying line.
03:32And I like to have a taste.
03:33Try before you buy.
03:35You know, which is always a good thing for me.
03:36It's almost like a bit of an early breakfast.
03:40Nice open punnet grape there.
03:42I'm just having a little taste of them.
03:45And they're nice.
03:47I'll look to probably take in, you know, five or six boxes of them,
03:49which is 50 punnets.
03:50And they should see me today, tomorrow.
03:52And off they go.
03:53Nice bit of pineapple here, so we'll have a look at these this morning as well.
03:57Nice and firm.
03:59I know everybody here.
04:00I've been coming down here, what, nine years now.
04:02So it's really a little family unit.
04:04We're all quite close.
04:06Nice to see you.
04:07Yeah, you too.
04:08Hi, BJ.
04:09Nice bit of open punnet nectarines.
04:12And it's nice.
04:13Are they nice, them, Simon?
04:15Nice colour, deep red.
04:17Once you put this outside the shop, it'll sell.
04:19That's if you don't eat them all first.
04:23For over 70 years, the Yorkshire Produce Centre has been an early morning mecca,
04:28linking local farmers and growers with prospective buyers.
04:32We supply people in the canary industry, retail, farm shops, all with fresh produce.
04:38We've got produce coming in all hours of the night, and it's nice and fresh.
04:43Simon makes a small mark-up on most of the fruit that he sells, but he uses it to entice
04:49people
04:49into the shop.
04:50So outside your shop, you'll have different lines, which we call pick-up lines.
04:53So literally, the customers will come up, they're not messing about, they've got very little time.
04:58They can pick one or two items up, they're quick in, quick out, and away they go.
05:01We've all heard a few pick-up lines before, Simon, but none of them involving fruit and veg,
05:06unless it's an emoji.
05:07Four o'clock in the morning, fresh English strawberries, can't beat them.
05:11You can have your five a day before five o'clock.
05:16John?
05:19All right, Popeye, someone's been at the spinach.
05:21I wait, John, all right?
05:22Thanks so to you.
05:24Still love me?
05:25Yeah.
05:28Nice bit of market banter.
05:29We'll leave you to your bant, Simon.
05:31Just hope you haven't eaten all the fruit when we catch up with you a little later.
05:35Beautiful. Really nice. So far, so good.
05:41This is Chris Edwards. He's been in the discount game for over 50 years.
05:46Retail is detail.
05:48In 2003, he launched Pound World, grew it to over 300 stores,
05:54then sold the lot in 2015 for a tidy 150 million.
05:59Not bad for a bloke who loves a good deal.
06:02Everything comes with the profit, and if you're not making a profit,
06:06you can't improve the business you're in.
06:08Chris couldn't stay out of the pound game for long.
06:11Four years after selling Pound World, he started a whole new chain of stores called One Below,
06:16where everything was sold for a pound or less.
06:19But the global inflation surge led to a necessary rebrand.
06:23You notice some of the stores now are called One Beyond.
06:26The reason why we went from One Below to One Beyond is since we started,
06:30a lot of the prices have been going up, so we've had to diversify slightly on some of the prices.
06:35Rather than mislead the public, the stores now are called One Beyond.
06:39The footfall hasn't changed, so we've still got the customer confidence, which is great,
06:43and we're just carrying on from there.
06:46Back in 2019, One Below took possession of this humongous warehouse in Barnsley.
06:52At 250,000 square feet, it's big enough to hold a couple of football pitches.
06:57When we sat down to the list, it was just empty space. There was absolutely nothing in it.
07:01Now six years on, Chris and the team worked tirelessly to keep it stocked.
07:06We've come a long way already.
07:08With everything from mould killer to mouse traps. And now he's letting us go behind the scenes.
07:15All right? I'm all right. Are you, Jack?
07:18Always. As long as you're all right, I'm all right.
07:21Well, anybody got anything to tell me?
07:22No. We're in control, then. We think we're in control. We'll see.
07:29This is where it all starts. All the stock comes to this place.
07:33The One Beyond retail strategy is stack it high, sell it cheap.
07:38There'll be about 30 aisles like this, all jam-banked full.
07:45There's over 5,000 different product lines contained in here,
07:48from cleaning products to cutlery, bleach to biscuits,
07:52and everything that comes in is bought at the lowest possible price.
07:56So how does he do it?
07:58With our kind of game, you've got to buy the cheapest so you can sell the cheapest.
08:01And the vast majority of stock comes from 4,000 miles away, you guessed it, from China.
08:08They can produce a similar quality of unbranded product with one critical advantage.
08:14We've got to include the shipping and we've got to include all the taxes and everything
08:17before we get the landed price. And the landed price from China is always cheaper.
08:24What's known as volume pricing keeps prices low.
08:28The more you buy, the cheaper it is. So the volume means everything. We buy stock in containers,
08:33and to get the best price, we've got to buy volume, at least container fulls or mixed containers.
08:39And that's what we do to get the best price for the customer.
08:42The company specialises in day-to-day household products, like batteries.
08:47We do an old range of household batteries. For instance, this is a AA battery, there's 10 on there,
08:51and we retail it for £125. I'm not putting these on the same standard as Duracell,
08:56but I know they won't be far behind. And to get four Duracell batteries, £4.75.
09:01So, you know, you could get four or five lots of that for the same price as just four Duracell.
09:07One way Chris cuts costs is to always go for a one-size-fits-all approach.
09:12We don't do much clothing at all, but the odd item we do, we do items like this,
09:18which is a one-size-fits-all, so we don't have to have multi-boxes with multi-sizes in it.
09:22And in turn, that gets us off the hook for a price, because it comes cheaper.
09:28If Chris's customers see the prices and think their eyes are deceiving them, he has something
09:33for that too. When you look at opticians these days, I know they've got the fancy frames, and
09:37I'm not saying I haven't bought from an optician as I have, but I also use our specs as well.
09:43When you get them on, they might not look as smart as they want them to be, but, you know,
09:46for £1.50, what do you expect?
09:50Yeah, we're going to open the bay door now. A container has just arrived from China.
09:55So we're just about to bring a container on bay, which is going to be unloaded. There's 3,000 units
10:01on it, which means we're going to have a team of seven people.
10:04And it all needs to be unloaded quickly, as the lads are on the clock.
10:08We have three hours.
10:11Container availability is limited, so time is strictly managed.
10:15We have a timer here, so if we go over on a container, we have to pay for it. If
10:19we get charged,
10:20then that's less profit for us. But yeah, I'm quite confident within three hours, we're going to smash this.
10:24Better get to work, labs.
10:3060 miles west of the warehouse, another discount disruptor is on his way to work.
10:35When people say to me, what do you do for a living? I say, we run a retail website,
10:39selling close to best before food and drink.
10:43Wayne Kirsch is the boss of Discount Dragon, and he's showing us all how he snaps up bulk
10:48clearance and surplus items to sell to online customers.
10:52Ultimately, it's all about saving our customers money.
10:58The company are based in a Grade 2 listed building called Buck's Mill.
11:03Built in 1905, it was one of the largest cotton mills in Lancashire.
11:08The cotton spinning has long since stopped, but the building is still a hive of activity.
11:15Unlike supermarkets, the company has no physical stores and all the sales are done through their
11:21website. And there's one killer way the business tries to get you to part with your hard-earned cash.
11:26The LTO, or limited time offer.
11:29We've got a limited time offer at the moment on these Cadbury Twirl.
11:33It's a freebie. You get 20 bars, free with every order.
11:37These are the twirls in these cages, and they're going out as fast as they're being packed.
11:42They're pretty much on, naming up every order over the past few weeks.
11:46Each type of special offer that we do is always limited time. None of them are indefinite.
11:52You know, the time that we put on it can be anything from 24 to 36 hours.
11:57A countdown clock tells shoppers when the deal will end.
12:01We like to show the visitor how long it's left, create that urgency, call to action.
12:07If that's there without the clock, you know, is there any urgency?
12:10People might just think, I can come back tomorrow and get that.
12:13We want them to take it now.
12:15And there's another limited time offer that's running today that always creates a stir.
12:20We call it a treasure chest. We sell it for 30 quid.
12:23You don't know what you're going to get.
12:24They sell out within 10 minutes of us launching them, a really popular product.
12:29The value in there can be anything up to 100, 150 quid.
12:33You may get a Boss Watch, you may get a bottle of perfume, alongside your other products.
12:38As you can see, a bit of work in progress for you.
12:40So what's in here so far?
12:43You've got your protein drinks, six drinks there.
12:49You've got your premium popcorn, your Kellogg cereal, vegan chocolate there, regular chocolate there.
12:57Teddy bear for the kids.
12:59Eyebrow shaper, possibly five, six quid retail in their own right.
13:03Purifying polish, 60 to 70 quid in the shops.
13:06It really is a lucky dip, random treasure chest.
13:10It's exactly what we say it is, and they just fly out the door.
13:14I might give the wink to the girls to let me buy this box.
13:19Coming up, ex-commando Simon takes the fight to the supermarket by adding the personal touch.
13:25I'm going to get some gooseberries in, just to please this little old lady.
13:29A home shopper hunts down the latest deal.
13:32I love online shopping, and I just love anything that's a bargain.
13:38And a product goes missing in action.
13:41There's a bit of space up on top there and take a photograph of.
13:43If anything is missing, that can have a knock-on effect to our profit margins.
13:52Across the UK, the cost of living crisis is hitting hard.
13:56The cost of my weekly shop at the moment is very high.
14:00It's just going up and up and up daily.
14:01It's just too much, too much.
14:05Independent greengrocer Simon is on a mission to find fruit and veg that's easy on the pocket,
14:10but still packs a punch.
14:11It's as big as me, is that?
14:13You know, that is quality.
14:16It's 4am at the Yorkshire Produce Centre, and Simon's looking for supplies for his shop.
14:21They're stunning. They are really good.
14:24The fruit and veg are looking tip-top.
14:26But they don't have to look like a supermodel to get a look in here.
14:30Here we have two different options.
14:32We have a premium quality, which is Class 1, and then we have a second option, which is Class 2.
14:37A Class 2 item could be marked.
14:39It could have failed to meet its delivery slot.
14:42It could be wonky.
14:43It could be misshaped.
14:44Maybe a little bit of a skin blemish.
14:46Yep.
14:46That's how we defy, like, a Class 1 and a Class 2 item.
14:49So, for the greengrocers, it gives them two different products to sell.
14:54They've got a good premium quality item, and then the Class 2 options will be a bit more of
14:59a value option for a different type of customer.
15:02The Class 2 options, I take it home for my own family.
15:06It's nothing wrong with it at all.
15:08But this particular strawberry will be a Class 2 item, and all it may have is, you know,
15:13just one or two blemishes.
15:15You can mark it up a little bit cheaper, and you can pass the savings on back to the customer.
15:19And obviously it's not being wasted, which I think is a big point of today.
15:22I will always try and go with the best possible produce I can get.
15:26But it's an opportunity to get a Class 2 item in that I think I can save money with.
15:30I can pass that savings on to the customer.
15:33I will do it, if it's of a quality.
15:38Nice bit of blackberry.
15:40We're doing well on the five a day, don't you think?
15:42Five a day?
15:43I think you've had about 50 today already, Simon.
15:46Good lad.
15:48Gooseberries.
15:49I've just had a little old lady ask me,
15:51Simon, can you get me some gooseberries?
15:53And I said, I will get you some.
15:55You see, that's the little kind of things that you'll not get in the supermarket.
15:58You will not get that.
16:00I'm going to get some gooseberries in, just to please this little old lady.
16:04Engaging with your customers is a very clinical part of the business, really.
16:08A little bit of a shop favourite these are.
16:10They're called Paraguayas, or known as Flat Peach.
16:13They are actually beautiful.
16:14A lovely item.
16:17That is absolutely beautiful.
16:19Lovely plum, really good.
16:21In all my time, I've never seen plumbers this good.
16:23It's what we call cream gear.
16:28The clock's ticking and Simon needs to stop sampling and start buying.
16:33It's six o'clock, I should be back at the shop ready for seven o'clock.
16:35Get it all flashed up and get it all ready.
16:37I should be loaded up and gone.
16:40Morning, Simon.
16:41Morning, Dale.
16:42You all right, huff?
16:42You all right, my pal?
16:43Yeah, it's not so bad.
16:44I'm wanting a bit of everything this morning.
16:46Bit of open grape there, Simon.
16:48Take a bit of 70 pence off you there, pal.
16:51That's good for me.
16:52I'm going to get them out at a pound.
16:54A little pick-up line, that's what we call it.
16:55You know, nice and easy.
16:56Whether you just pick it up and go.
16:58I'll charge you 80 pence there.
17:0080p.
17:00I can go out a pound again.
17:0140p there, Simon.
17:03I can put this out today on my pound ticket line.
17:05Simon, they're in at 40 quid.
17:07I'll charge you 38 quid there.
17:08Get you a couple of quid out at job.
17:10Lovely.
17:10Big as an elephant's head.
17:15That's us all loaded up.
17:16So we're going to head back down to Wakefield
17:18and show the customers our offerings for today.
17:21We'll see you at the shop, Simon.
17:27Bargain retailer Discount Dragon is also having a high octane day.
17:32You have to be healthy to do this job.
17:34I'll soon get rid of this soon.
17:37Due to the company's continual expansion,
17:40this week there's a new recruit to customer services
17:43in the form of 27-year-old Zara.
17:46I've been brought in to stop giving refunds that aren't necessary
17:50and work out all the returns as well.
17:54Something that's increasingly important to consumers
17:57is how eco-friendly their retailers are.
18:00And here, there's a large emphasis on reusing and recycling.
18:05Zara's going to work out which returned items can be resold.
18:09So these are this afternoon's returns.
18:14It's just like the excitement of not knowing what you're going to get.
18:17Or today, which ones have a greater destiny to fulfil?
18:22Those deemed worthy will be considered for an exclusive new lease of life
18:27in one of the mythical treasure chests.
18:30We are going to go and look at what returns have come in.
18:34Once I'm done with the boxes, I pass them on to someone else
18:38who decides whether they go back into the warehouse
18:42or they go into damages, but I have no idea what happens at that point.
18:47Not my monkey, not my circus, that has nothing to do with me.
18:52Zara's clearly got firm boundaries, but the treasure chests do not.
18:56They can be made up of absolutely anything.
18:59So what wonders are lying in wait today?
19:02Oh, there's lots going on.
19:05Barbecue sauce.
19:09Oh, a variety pack of chocolate.
19:11All day breakfast pie, it looks like.
19:15Best before June 2026.
19:19So there is a good sell-by on that.
19:20You haven't lived if you haven't had a breakfast pie in a tin.
19:25The best returns make their way to the treasure trove.
19:28My cosmetics area.
19:31And Aladdin's cave of warehouse wonders,
19:34where the treasure chests will be put together with low-cost love later today.
19:40Meanwhile, 165 miles away is Bedfordshire nurse and savvy shopper Cheryl.
19:46I just love anything that's a bargain.
19:48Discount Dragon is something I've been shopping with for years and years.
19:52It's easier. It just gets delivered to my door. I don't have to go out.
19:55It reminds me of like a home bargains and a pound shop just online,
20:01which is much more convenient.
20:02I'm obviously pregnant at the moment. I'm a full-time, busy working mum.
20:06I have a 12-year-old son, a husband who's always working.
20:09It's just the convenience. I love online shopping.
20:13Go on, Cheryl.
20:14Show us some of your standout steels.
20:16I've got an air fryer, which I'm addicted to.
20:20It was on a discount. I think it was like £60, like my double air fryer.
20:24And then they also had some other electrical bits.
20:26I got my hand blender. It was like £19.99.
20:29I was like, bargain.
20:31I've seen them in like the curries and argos for like 50, 60 quid.
20:35So I was like, well, I'll definitely have one of those.
20:36So they're just like electrical items that I've got.
20:40If I look in my cupboard, this is like my main cupboard,
20:43because this is where all my sweets and yummy things live.
20:46A big packet of 12 for, I think they were a penny.
20:50My son loves like flavoured milk. So I've got some of these.
20:54I've got a packet of three of these for 99p.
20:57And I think they're about £2 in B&M. So that was a bargain.
21:00And it's not just sweet tasting items Cheryl's bought in bulk.
21:05Over here, I have my Yankee Candle collection, which I'm very proud of and obsessed with.
21:11So before Discount Dragon was Discount Dragon, it was actually a website called Yankee Bundles,
21:15which I'd found on my travels through the internet.
21:17And I realised that they sold loads and loads of cheap candles.
21:20They smell amazing. But then I started just collecting them.
21:23When it comes to her favourite bargain retailer, Cheryl has no hesitation in waxing lyrical.
21:29I've been using them for so long, and I feel like where they're saving me money,
21:33I feel like I need to give something back, but I just keep spending more money with them.
21:37But Cheryl still has a big unfulfilled discount ambition.
21:41I would love one of these treasure chests they have. I keep looking for them.
21:45I'll check my emails each day. And if I see that they've come up, I'll go and look online.
21:50But normally I'm like a little bit too late, depending on when I've checked my emails.
21:53So I really want one of the treasure chest things.
21:56Keep your eyes peeled, Cheryl. Keep them peeled.
22:00Where Cheryl's relying on a bit of luck, one beyond leave nothing to chance.
22:05Their transport network relies on pure precision and logistics.
22:10Unlike Discount Dragon, who deliver to the customer's door,
22:13one beyond have over 100 discount stores across the UK, from Glasgow to Southampton.
22:20And all are stocked from their mega warehouse in Barnsley,
22:24which contains up to £20 million worth of stock at any one time,
22:28including some which has just arrived from China.
22:32In the warehouse here, we just have a simple process.
22:35When it's coming from China, it comes in a container.
22:37They unload it, pack it in, put it in pallets, put it in storage.
22:41And then that same item goes into the shops and then the customer sees it.
22:45It's very simple, really. It's not hard.
22:49FCLs are all important in this game.
22:53That's full container loads to you and me.
22:55There's a formula where you order enough to fill the container.
22:58And when you say fill, it means fill.
23:01You can't get a milk bottle top in some of the containers.
23:04You can't sell fresh air.
23:06I'm sure you've probably tried it at some point, Chris.
23:10Space equals waste is the maxim, but this container isn't quite full.
23:15There's a mysterious missing box that warehouse boss Sean's just spotted.
23:19There's a bit of space up on top there and take a photograph of.
23:22We pay to have a container filled fully.
23:24And if the container isn't filled fully, then we have to go back to the supplier
23:27and say that this wasn't filled to what we paid for, essentially.
23:30And then we get a charge back on that.
23:33We need to make sure we get the right amount of products for what we order.
23:36And if anything is missing, that can have a knock-on effect to our profit margins.
23:39A big part of the business is seasonal selling.
23:43Where goods are in higher demand at certain times of the year.
23:46And are often tied to holidays, whether patterns, seasons or events in the calendar,
23:51such as Valentine's Day.
23:52Although this shipment is more about frights than romantic delights.
23:57This is seasonal stuff.
23:59It's Halloween stuff.
24:00So we have some Halloween doors, tombstone garden sticks.
24:03So this is a seasonal container for the, well, Halloween, obviously.
24:09The lads are on the clock.
24:10There's a warehouse rule that any delays, the business pays.
24:14So they're not hanging about.
24:16And there's another reason things are being offloaded quickly.
24:19They could get an extra 15-minute cigarette break if they want to.
24:22No wonder they've got a spring in their step.
24:25Who doesn't want an extra break?
24:27And this load gets sorted with more than half an hour to spare.
24:31Mission accomplished, boys.
24:35Coming up, Simon reveals his secrets to
24:38snagging shoppers.
24:40He's what's known as a shopper stopper.
24:41They see the price of it, pick up, they'll go inside.
24:44This is the eye catcher.
24:46Shop manager Renata has to deal with a crisis.
24:49Where's my delivery?
24:50Delivery is late.
24:51Everything is good.
24:52Put it back.
24:54And the treasure chest is filled with booty.
24:57That's your breakfast tomorrow, that.
24:59Well, it's somebody's.
25:08The UK high streets are full of disgruntled shoppers,
25:11peeved at price rises.
25:13I don't think the supermarkets offer much value for money.
25:16The prices, they're just going up and up and up.
25:19Expensive. Too expensive.
25:20Literally everything that you buy has gone up massively.
25:24But there's a booming disruptor discount store
25:27that's shaking things up.
25:30It's just gone from no shops to, at the moment,
25:33we're on about 120 shops.
25:35And one of those shops is about to get a visit.
25:38Because Chris Edwards, boss of new kid on the discount block
25:41One Beyond, is heading to the outskirts of Leeds
25:44to catch up with one of his managers, Renata,
25:47who's checking out a new product line that's just come in.
25:51Designer dog blankets, anyone?
25:53Look at that.
25:54Poochy.
25:55Lovely little blanket.
25:57Look at that.
25:58Christian dog.
26:00It's funny, that's the thing.
26:01It's funny.
26:02It's just, you know, something different.
26:04So yeah, I think they will sell.
26:09Renata came to the UK from Poland 16 years ago.
26:13I go to this country without even speaking English.
26:16And I make my way off.
26:17I start as a Christmas temp.
26:20I'll be six years manager in Fan World.
26:22And now, six years on this one, One Beyond.
26:26I want to be the boss.
26:28What is your bestseller?
26:30Chewing gum.
26:31Everyone wants to have a, you know, fresh breath.
26:34Thanks a lot.
26:37So popular is Renata that customers even bring in photos of their cats
26:42to show her.
26:43Oh, nice.
26:44Thank you for showing me.
26:47See you later, though.
26:50See, customers like to share stuff.
26:53Sometimes it's just they're coming in for chat.
26:55You know, what makes people happy.
26:59So having lived in Yorkshire for 16 years,
27:02does the old cliche of the locals being difficult to price from their pounds ring true?
27:08Yorkshire man, yeah, they are definitely, you know, like a general.
27:11You know, if they don't have to spend it, they will not spend it.
27:14And they will be counting every penny.
27:17And that includes hubby Dave.
27:19He's tied my day.
27:20Oh, my God, he's going to be mad for a while.
27:23But if you don't have to spend it, he will not spend it.
27:28Sorry, Dave.
27:31Renata's good mood might not last because there's a problem in the shop.
27:35Several of the shelves are bare.
27:37The boss is on his way.
27:39And the lorry that's bringing fresh supplies is running late.
27:43Where's my deliveries?
27:45Delivery is late.
27:46Everything is get put back.
27:48So that's the annoying part.
27:50But then it's rush, rush, rush next day.
27:52Retail.
27:53All joy.
27:54Let's hope the delivery arrives before the boss does.
27:57I know he's a boss.
27:59I know he's a big boss.
28:00But no, we're not nervous, no.
28:02We're ready for it.
28:03That's fighting talk, Renata.
28:07Greengrocer Simon Fishwick never has an empty shelf.
28:10But that's because he does most of the supply runs himself.
28:14It's 6.45am and having stocked up his van and his stomach at the wholesalers,
28:20he's headed to load up his shop, the Greenberry.
28:23The Greenberry is actually a play on words.
28:26I completed the IDS Royal Marine training course down at Limston
28:31to be awarded the coveted Greenberry.
28:34So he built a strapline to go with it called Froome Veg on Parade.
28:38It's still run very much to a military position,
28:41right down to this morning's execution of getting up on time,
28:45getting down to the produce centre.
28:47So it's pretty much like an extension of my military time unserved,
28:50which obviously does make me chuckle.
28:55We've arrived safely at Wakefield.
28:57Where's Yorkshire?
28:58Off we go.
29:00We'll start getting set up and getting things ready.
29:06Nice empty barra.
29:08Get it all topped up.
29:12And just start filling up now, little bits and pieces.
29:15Getting it all set up so it's looking on point.
29:17I'm ready for customers coming through the door.
29:20Nice bit of citrus and ruby grapefruit.
29:22Nice bit of banana.
29:23A nice bit of navel orange.
29:26Simon's mantra is, be vocal about local.
29:29And he's proud of the fact that most of his produce is from local suppliers.
29:34Nice bit of British tomato.
29:36East Yorkshire.
29:37Barda.
29:37Lovely brand.
29:38From field to fork.
29:40We're talking less than a hundred mile,
29:41which I think is really good.
29:44The outside of the shop is where Simon puts his most eye-catching fruit
29:48that he sells for a quid.
29:50So this morning's nectarine is a little pound line,
29:53little pound pickup line.
29:54This is what's known as a shopper stopper,
29:56where the customers are walking armlessly up and down the high street.
30:00They see something that catches the eye.
30:01It just kind of stops them in the tracks and think,
30:04oh, looks a bit different.
30:05And then they see the price of it pick up.
30:07They'll go inside and they may pick one or two other little bits up.
30:11But this is the eye-catcher.
30:13This is where we want to be.
30:14It's got to look appealing.
30:15It's got to look presentable.
30:16We've got the lemons going out at 20p each.
30:19Six for a pound.
30:20And absolutely, you know what we say,
30:23cock on, beautiful.
30:24Again, another little shopper stopper out there.
30:27What did he say this morning?
30:28It's as big as an elephant's head.
30:29So that's what we'll go with.
30:32As big as an elephant's head.
30:35If the shopper stopper does what it's intended to do,
30:38and customers step inside,
30:39there's a good chance they'll buy more produce.
30:42And that raises the all-important ABS.
30:45That's average basket spend to you and me.
30:47If they're buying the potatoes or they're getting some banana
30:49and the other two other bits,
30:51it will raise their average basket spend.
30:56And Simon has a couple more psychological selling tricks
30:59to get customers to part with their cash.
31:01So, obviously, we've got different colours attracting different things on the eye-line.
31:05We do call it a sensory shopping,
31:06but as they're coming in, you can see a different variation on colour
31:10right the way throughout the shop, and that's the way it's laid out.
31:13Another term that we use in the retail industry is eye-line-by-line,
31:17and this applies to pretty much every shop.
31:19It's to catch the customer's eye.
31:21I always put my best lines at eye-level,
31:23because that's the catchment area for the customer.
31:25So as they've come in the shop and they've gone round,
31:27as they're coming along, they can just pick up some strawberries
31:29and they can come straight to the till and buy them.
31:31They're not having to bend down, they're not looking above and below.
31:34They're straight at eye-level and they're picking up and they're away they go.
31:38With the eye-line-by-line in place and shopper stopper sorted, Simon's all set.
31:44So today looks quite good.
31:46We've got the weather, we've got the stock, we've got the smile.
31:50Off we go.
31:55Back in Wigan, Zara's earmarked returns are about to become treasure chest items,
32:01and today Portuguese picker and packer Castro is on his first chest assignment.
32:06The box should be full. We want it absolutely full of stuff.
32:10It's a bit of everything and at least one premium item that might be worth
32:14probably £50 or more we put in there. The whole idea being that the box by the end is worth
32:19over 100 quid.
32:20OK. Makes sense.
32:22The treasure chests are sold for just 30 quid, so you get a lot of bang for your buck.
32:27You make a box. I'll guide you if you need guiding. I'll make a box. Let's see who makes a
32:31better box.
32:32Sounds good to me.
32:33They should both be brilliant, but mine is probably going to be better, obviously.
32:37Obst.
32:38Right, let's go. I'm actually going to start on this side.
32:40Go on.
32:41Don't copy me.
32:42No, I'll try not to.
32:44So we condense all of our treasure chest stock into two aisles. The guys who are making the boxes,
32:49they know they can take anything from here. There's no kind of rules. Just take it,
32:54fill the box, make sure it's worth over 100 quid, and on to the next one. The names are recognizable,
32:59premium names. That's probably, I don't know, £3.50-ish, I guess, in the shop, so straight in there.
33:07Already that's 10% of the value of the 30 quid the customer spends.
33:12Some of the products that go into the treasure chests have damaged or imperfect packaging,
33:17or have been returned by customers as incorrect orders.
33:20We don't want to throw anything away. If something's been opened, so that was
33:23once upon a time a full case, it's now only 11 cans, not 12. We can't sell it as 12,
33:29we don't want to throw it away. We do check everything pretty stringently, that it's not
33:34been opened, so anything that's been opened, we wouldn't put in here. If we didn't do this,
33:38we'd have a mountain of returns, floor to ceiling. Ooh! Some lucky so-and-so's getting
33:42one of those pies in a tin. That's your breakfast tomorrow, that. Well, it's somebody's.
33:49Size of that branded candle, I think that's 30-odd quid retail. Straight away,
33:55that's paid for the order for whoever's getting this.
33:58If only we knew someone who liked candles. Mini eggs. Who doesn't like mini eggs?
34:05Castro's putting some crowd pleasers in his box.
34:08Some beer, some pop, some snacks, some sweets. He's going quicker than me. That's why he's
34:15warehouse and I'm office, because he's quicker. Pop a few in here. That's two for later on,
34:23for yours truly. Perk of the job, that. Feels like a flaky policy.
34:31Like all the limited time offers, the treasure chests are a loss leader to attract custom.
34:37It's not a profitable exercise for the company at 30 quid. You can see what's in here. It costs
34:42us a lot more than 30 quid, but it's happy customers getting value and turning a mountain of returns into
34:48space and value for the customer. The beauty is as well that these appeal to everyone. You know,
34:56whether you're struggling trying to feed the kids or whatever, or whether you've got a few quid in the
35:01bank, who doesn't love a bargain? And what is guaranteed with these is there is going to be a
35:06bargain in your box. And that's my box done. You're so tidy and mine's so messy. The first time I've
35:15actually hands-on made one of these, and you know, it is a big box. I'm actually shocked at how
35:20much
35:21stuff we put in there. I might have to put the price up now, now I've seen it. And yours
35:25was
35:25absolutely pristine. Thank you. Thanks, bro. Thank you. Thank you. Castro's box is a winner,
35:34but it won't be hanging around to be admired, as Wayne's about to make the mystery boxes live on the
35:39website. So this is where the magic happens. Putting them on the home page right now. 35 and
35:46stuck. Usually when we put these back on, we get our first sale within a matter of sometimes seconds.
35:53On a bad day, it will take five minutes. And there we go. I'll tell you what I'll do. I'm
35:59going to
35:59write it down how many I think will be left when I come back from the meeting. Next time I
36:04sit in this
36:04chair, there'll be zero remaining. Coming up, Simon takes on the supers.
36:12A competition is straight across the road. So really, you've got to really make sure you're
36:16looking sharp. And you've got to be on point. Because if not, they'll simply just walk past
36:20and they'll carry on walking. Chris arrives to find a shelf shocker. There's empty shelves.
36:25You can't sell from an empty shelf. And will Cheryl's discount dreams come true?
36:30Oh, oh, oh, oh. Don't stress me out.
36:40The boss of discount store One Beyond, Chris Edwards, is on his way to check out one of his stores,
36:46run by manager Renata.
36:51She's been waiting for a big delivery, so she can restock the shelves before the boss arrives and
36:56sees them empty. Where's my deliveries? But after a stressful wait...
37:03Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll have delivery! Delivery! Yeah, happy day!
37:10It's massive. Massive.
37:14I can avoid you if you need me. No, get me on. Oh, you want to be on?
37:21Well, I've lost a bit of waiting for this. Have you been waiting long? Yeah. I can't hear as quick
37:29as I could.
37:32The delivery has arrived in the nick of time, as look who's just rocked up. And he might be on
37:38the warpath.
37:39I don't really throw my waiter belt like I used to, but as I've walked in, I realised there's empty
37:44shelves.
37:45You can't sell from an empty shelf, but I know there's a delivery coming, so I can't criticise.
37:50They'll be stocking up shortly, but I'll just have a look anyway.
37:53One of the key selling strategies is section selling.
37:57Like, we're looking here now, there's an air care section, all the toiletries, and then you can get a
38:02multi-buy from it. A multi-buy would be, well, they might want a nail brush, a bat brush, a
38:06pedicure set.
38:07It's all the same. And they're all, well, I'm here. I'll have that. I'll have that.
38:10So we try to look for not just one-off purchases. We try and get multi-buys out of a
38:16section if we can.
38:17There's sections for everything.
38:19This store is running a special summer, kit out your kid for four quid promotion.
38:24We've got one size baseball cap, get a pair of sunglasses and flip flops, all for the price of
38:30four quid altogether. So you can kit your kid up for four quid. It can't be bad, can it?
38:37But missing stock once again catches Chris's eye.
38:40You don't like to see empty shelves, but the manager's very, very good.
38:44Hi. I've been looking for you.
38:46I've been looking for you. I'm here for you.
38:49I've been praising you about the shop, by the way.
38:51Oh, that's good.
38:52Yeah, yeah.
38:52You know what's going to happen now is, what about that pair of eyes?
38:57How long have you worked for it now?
38:58A lot of years.
38:59Lots of years, yeah.
39:00You're like this.
39:07It's all hands on deck to empty the container.
39:10Richard, the driver.
39:12Hi, see you later.
39:14Hits the road and the store is restocked ASAP.
39:19The boss is a happy man.
39:21The staff we've got do work hard to keep this level of presentation without a doubt.
39:25And Renata's pulled it out of the bag.
39:27I'm going to give her nine out of ten.
39:29Ah, it's good. It's good. I'm all right at that.
39:30And I'm going to tell her in a couple of weeks I'll come back and I bet she tries for
39:33ten.
39:35Try me.
39:37Right then. See you later. See you.
39:39Renata can finally relax.
39:49But for greengrocer Simon in Yorkshire, it's crunch time.
39:53He's ripe and ready to start selling.
39:55But there's one last thing he wants to do, and that's eye up the competition.
39:59The supermarket is just a few metres from the shop.
40:04A competition is straight across the road, so really you've got to really make sure you're
40:08looking sharp and you've got to be on point. Because if not, they'll simply just walk past
40:12and they'll carry on walking. Simon heads over to have a nosey at what's on offer.
40:17I've just popped across the road to see where we are in terms of price and that.
40:20And actually today, we're a lot better. We're a lot sharper. We're best dressed.
40:23Let's see if I can tempt him in with my bargains today and off we go from there.
40:28One of his first customers of the day is Sandra, who's a regular.
40:33Good morning, Sandra.
40:34Good morning, Sandra.
40:35What would you like, Sandra, this morning?
40:36I would like two avocados, please.
40:39And four apricots.
40:41Nice and firm as well.
40:42Lovely.
40:43Lovely.
40:43And some of those lovely strawberries.
40:46Beautiful.
40:47And I love.
40:47Can I have four for 50p?
40:49Yeah, for you, yes.
40:51I'll put you one extra in.
40:52Oh, thank you.
40:53Just feel that, Sandra, just one minute.
40:55What's it filled with?
40:56Filled with love.
40:57Love.
40:58Oh, he's got the patter as well as the produce.
41:02Simon's doing a brisk trade.
41:03I do love avocado.
41:06And in supermarkets, they can get quite expensive.
41:09So now we can see here that the pack of two is one pound.
41:12The reason that I shop here, as opposed to the supermarket that's in the town,
41:17is because their produce, the majority of it, is pre-packed.
41:23I like to be able to actually pick the goods up and have a look at them and make sure
41:30that
41:30they're OK, so when I get them home, I'm not going to be disappointed with my purchase.
41:35Afternoon, young man.
41:36You all right?
41:36Afternoon.
41:37Yeah.
41:37And Simon's Shopper Stopper display has worked its magic.
41:41It looked amazing with the strawberries outside, the oranges, the avocados.
41:45It just grabbed me as I was walking past and it made me just want to come in and have
41:51a look.
41:52Hiya, Barbara.
41:53You all right, my love?
41:53Yes, I'm fine, yeah, I've got everything I need.
41:56Lovely.
41:57And thank goodness that you do half a cucumber and you don't have to buy a full one and throw
42:01half away and that's the best thing about this type of shop.
42:05You don't have to have a big bag of carrots, you can just pick up a couple.
42:11So much food wasted when you go to supermarkets.
42:15When you come to a local small business, you can pick whatever you want in small amounts.
42:22Simon was a Royal Marines Commando in a previous life and still proudly wears his
42:27Green Beret from time to time.
42:30I see what you did with the name, Simon.
42:31Very good.
42:32One of the staff actually put a little montage together of the Green Beret Fruit and Vegeon
42:36Parade.
42:37Er, they've gone for a quite reddish shade of green.
42:40And above there is the picture where I was awarded the military parachute wings.
42:43I'm very proud of little things like this.
42:45It's always a nice little conversation opener where customers will see all the military
42:49insignia throughout the shop and it really is a good nice little talking point, especially
42:52with veterans.
42:53So I'm very proud of little things of this nature.
42:56We salute you, Simon, Mr Shopper Stopper.
43:03Do you know what I'm going to get today?
43:05I've been trying to get a treasure chest for ages and ages on Discount Dragon.
43:10Back down in Bedfordshire, Cheryl loves her iced coffee.
43:14As well as bargain website Discount Dragon.
43:17This is the best on a hot day.
43:20But she's yet to get her hands on one of their elusive treasure chests.
43:24Mystery £30 boxes filled with over 100 quids worth of products.
43:29The treasure chest is basically like a unicorn.
43:32Like a unicorn is so rare, like who's seen one?
43:35Who has one?
43:36And it's like the mystery box is a unicorn.
43:38What is it? Who knows?
43:40I'm going to go on the website.
43:41I've been trying to get this treasure chest five, six, seven, eight.
43:45I lost count amount of times I've been trying to do it.
43:47And I know that there's going to be some amazing bargains in there.
43:51Because I mean, it's like for £30, for £100 worth of stuff.
43:54And I love a bargain.
43:55I love a mystery.
43:56And I know that it's going to be stuff that I'm absolutely going to use,
43:59which is why I'm so obsessed with trying to get one.
44:02So we're looking for the mystery box.
44:06Fingers crossed.
44:08Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, hang on.
44:10Treasure chest, Mr. Add.
44:12Oh, so I can add it.
44:13Oh, add, add, add, add, add, add, add.
44:15This is exciting.
44:17Right, let me go to my basket.
44:18Save £70.
44:20That's crazy.
44:21And I need to get a text from my phone.
44:24What is sure to make Cheryl's big moment run smoothly
44:27is the presence of a TV crew.
44:30No, don't stress me out.
44:32Don't stress me out.
44:34Processing.
44:35Please work this time.
44:37Yes, pay now.
44:40Getting all hot and flustered at the idea that I might actually get something for once.
44:44All this being processed.
44:45It said this a minute ago.
44:46Yay!
44:47Thank you, Cheryl.
44:48Thank you, Disappoint Plugin.
44:50I'm going to get to pass.
44:52Unicorn secured.
44:53But what could it be?
44:55It's all in the name, isn't it?
44:56A mystery.
44:57What am I going to get?
44:58I do not know.
44:59It's going to be definitely the obvious bits,
45:00and I think there'll definitely be a few random little surprises
45:03that I would not have ever thought of.
45:05And hopefully the box is going to be big.
45:08No pressure.
45:09But over at Discount Dragon HQ,
45:12checking the size of the box is not priority number one.
45:15First thing I want to do is check my prediction on treasure chest.
45:19Drum roll, Wayne.
45:21How many have you got left?
45:23I'm going to refresh my screen.
45:25Let's see if my prediction of zero is right.
45:27So you can see here, there's my screen.
45:30Pre-meeting, 32 in stock.
45:32Let's refresh.
45:33Let's see how popular these treasure chests really are.
45:39Oh, there we go.
45:42Gone like discount hotcakes.
45:44But will the £30 treasure chest live up to Cheryl's hopes and dreams?
45:48A couple of days ago, I received my mystery box,
45:51which I managed to order from Discount Tracker,
45:53which I was really excited about.
45:54Now, I have no idea what's going to be inside this,
45:57so I'm quite excited.
45:59Come on, then.
46:00Let's see the treasures.
46:01Look at all this.
46:02This is exciting.
46:03Look, Pringles and my teddies.
46:06This is crazy.
46:07Oh, my goodness.
46:09Wow.
46:10So what's the verdict, Cheryl?
46:11That is amazing.
46:12I don't know how you do it and actually make money,
46:14but that's cool.
46:16So thank you.
46:18Mwah.
46:18And now,
46:21folks thank you.
46:23Bye.
46:31Bye.
46:35Bye.
46:37Bye.
46:37Bye.
46:38Bye-bye.
46:39Bye.
46:41Bye.
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