Jingle bells, lickspittles. This is the last you will hear from me before the Nativity or, as my politically correct local infant school has renamed it, Muhammad the Bear's Birthday Party.
I don't want to turn the collective brandy butter rancid but Fingleton's mob down the road from here soured the mood this week. I suppose the £116m fine will go some way to boosting the Secret Santa fund at the OFT, and, who knows, Johnny Fingers may get Corner Store Shoot 'Em II for the Xbox after all.
But minds less cynical than mine will be mulling over who actually benefits from all of this. The OFT announcement positively reeks of stale sweat, testosterone and Lynx Africa with its "flexible approach" and "maintaining strong and effective competition law," but does old Fingers think for a minute that Asda, JS or any of the Kings of Cheese are going to let this hit their margins? They will pass the cost right down the food chain to the punters that the OFT's posturing is supposedly protecting. And what easier, if you're Tesco or Morrisons, to join in the fun, well aware they'll need a fighting fund when Fingers needs to top up the kitty around Easter time.
Either way, the Great British Shopper picks up the tab - twice in this case. Which will bring her bill to roughly the same level as a weekly outing to Waitrose, where Markup de Price, the Ghost of Margins Vast, has got right into the festive spirit by accusing his competitors of sneakily conning their customers into paying less than they would at his place. Yes, Markup, we know there's a difference between price and value. Just as we know there's a difference between sour grapes and organic turkey.
Enough. I'm off to my usual winter retreat at St Moritz to see an old dog with a neckful of brandy. Sadly, the Lady Veronica could not be persuaded to stay at home this year.
I don't want to turn the collective brandy butter rancid but Fingleton's mob down the road from here soured the mood this week. I suppose the £116m fine will go some way to boosting the Secret Santa fund at the OFT, and, who knows, Johnny Fingers may get Corner Store Shoot 'Em II for the Xbox after all.
But minds less cynical than mine will be mulling over who actually benefits from all of this. The OFT announcement positively reeks of stale sweat, testosterone and Lynx Africa with its "flexible approach" and "maintaining strong and effective competition law," but does old Fingers think for a minute that Asda, JS or any of the Kings of Cheese are going to let this hit their margins? They will pass the cost right down the food chain to the punters that the OFT's posturing is supposedly protecting. And what easier, if you're Tesco or Morrisons, to join in the fun, well aware they'll need a fighting fund when Fingers needs to top up the kitty around Easter time.
Either way, the Great British Shopper picks up the tab - twice in this case. Which will bring her bill to roughly the same level as a weekly outing to Waitrose, where Markup de Price, the Ghost of Margins Vast, has got right into the festive spirit by accusing his competitors of sneakily conning their customers into paying less than they would at his place. Yes, Markup, we know there's a difference between price and value. Just as we know there's a difference between sour grapes and organic turkey.
Enough. I'm off to my usual winter retreat at St Moritz to see an old dog with a neckful of brandy. Sadly, the Lady Veronica could not be persuaded to stay at home this year.
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