(AP Photo/Andy Wong) SAN DIEGO (CN) – A first-year law student’s professor of torts inevitably covers the classic case of negligence where a woman slips in the supermarket aisle. The question, on which ride both the woman’s monetary award and the lawyer’s pay, is who’s at fault. Was it, say, the staff at Southern California-based grocery store chain Stater Bros., who put an ice machine in the aisle where a woman was seen on store video going down? Or was it the two customers who were also seen by the machine spilling ice and then playing a game of mini-soccer with the ice cubes? As it turned out, U.S.
The big four supermarkets have “undoubtedly” dug their own grave and contributed to the “crisis” in the retail industry, according to Clive Black of Shore Capital. The chairman of Tesco has blamed the supermarket industry’s near obsession with opening more and more shops for its past errors. John Allan, who took over as chairman in March last year in the.
District Judge Michael Anello summary judgment to Stater Bros. In a ruling this week in San Diego. He found plaintiff Jennifer Rodgers failed to prove the store was negligent because they did not immediately clean up the ice that customers had kicked all over the floor.
Store videotape captured the events. Four minutes before Rodgers fell, two customers were shopping where the store keeps its large bags of ice. One of the customers spilled an ice bag on the floor, which broke open. The two men proceeded to kick the ice around the floor, buy whatever they came for and exit the store. Meanwhile, Rodgers came by soon after and fell on the slippery floor. Rodgers claimed the store was liable because it failed to clean up the spill in a timely manner despite a closed-circuit camera that could have alerted them to the situation.
However, Stater Bros. Said its policy to clean floors every hour conforms to regulations and doing so earlier would not have helped prevent the accident. Ultimately, the judge agreed. “In any event, plaintiff points to no evidence nor even an inference that suggests that defendant could have reasonably anticipated or had knowledge that slip-and-falls from spilled ice or water would regularly arise from defendant’s policies of customers handling ice bags or hourly floor sweeps,” Anello wrote in the 21-page ruling. Rodgers had also argued that failing to implement a policy that only employees could handle ice bags made the store negligent. Anello rejected that, saying Rodgers hadn’t shown such a policy is widespread or that it would have prevented the slip and fall. Finally, the judge said the four minutes from the time the ice was kicked around to when Rodgers slipped was insufficient to establish responsibility.
Don't blame Aldi: Expert says Dick Smith only has himself to blame for food company's closure because it couldn't compete on prices. The businessman announced closure of his food enterprise Thursday morning. The 74-year-old blamed German supermarket giant for 'forcing' him to close. An expert claimed Mr Smith's company could not blame Aldi alone for demise. Mr Smith wrote letter to Aldi's owners, Karl Albrecht Jnr and Beate Heister By and Published: 06:58 GMT, 26 July 2018 Updated: 11:24 GMT, 26 July 2018. Millionaire Dick Smith has been slammed for suggesting Aldi 'forced' him into closing his food company after almost two decades.
Supermarkets To Blame For Downfall Synonym
An expert told Daily Mail Australia Dick Smith Foods' collapse was because of all the major supermarkets - not just the German giant - and the company's lack of marketing, promotion and brand awareness with Aussie consumers. 'There's a lot of factors behind the downfall, it's not solely placed on Aldi,' IBISWorld Senior Industry Analyst Bao Vuong said. Scroll down for video. 'Coles and Woolworths and Aldi - they all had an effect on downfall of Dick Smith Foods because consumers are price conscious.'
Mr Vuong said the food company, founded in 1999, proved they could not compete in a competitive market which favours cheap products. 'It's the company itself, it's not a prominent or well-known company with Australian consumers,' he said. 'The lack of brand awareness contributed to the downfall over the decade.'
The expert explained Dick Smith Food's prices were double that of their competitors and this was a 'large contributor to the downfall'. Share 'If you can sell cheaper products, consumers will give you incredible support. Price is most important when it comes to consumers,' Mr Vuong told Daily Mail Australia. 'They may have had a chance, although it was a very small business, if it promoted itself better and compared its products. It potentially could have done well in the market.' The 74-year-old made the shock announcement on Thursday morning where he said 'extreme capitalism' and the European supermarket had led to his company's demise. Dick Smith Foods will be wound down over 12 months after almost two decades in business and $480 million in retail sales.
Mr Smith said 'the driving force of our closure, however, is Aldi' in a five-page open letter to Coles and Woolworths. 'It is not just battlers who support Aldi. Many wealthy Australians also support Aldi – and in fact say positive things about Aldi and negative things about your companies,' he wrote.
Mr Smith accused Aldi of taking money and jobs out of Australia - something he claimed to support with his failed food company - which produces sauces, spreads, biscuits and cereals 'This is sad and hardly consistent with the support you have given Australian companies such as our own. It looks as if there is nothing we can do about this. It is simply modern 'extreme capitalism'. 'That is the reason I am closing Dick Smith Foods.' He also issued a warning to the supermarket bosses. 'The Aldi concept is ruthlessly astute and it is clear that unless your companies move towards this system, you will very likely become uncompetitive,' Mr Smith said.
Mr Smith accused Aldi of taking money and jobs out of Australia - something he claimed to support with his failed food company - which produces sauces, spreads, biscuits and cereals. The entrepreneur, who once had a net worth of $50 million, said while his business was still viable at the moment, he made the decision to shut it down as he feared it will soon succumb to the inevitable and slide into bankruptcy. 'It's quite devastating. I basically failed,' Mr Smith told Daily Mail Australia. Mr Smith (pictured in 2001) launched Dick Smith Foods 19 years ago, with the products made using Australian grown ingredients 'I don't make any money out of it.
We established (the business) to help Australian farmers and workers in the food industry. 'We could've made the business make a fortune - you can just import the cheapest (products) but I'm not going to do that. 'It's devastating but that's life. I've been very lucky.
It will affect the charities we helped.' Mr Smith said there was little hope for food production in Australia. 'The future for Australian manufacturing is just terrible. It's on its way to complete destruction,' he said.
'There will be less and less food production in Australia if we allow this to continue.' 'In two years' time we will go out of business, so I'm closing it down now when times are good.
'It's a decision forced on me because most people just want the cheapest prices, and the cheapest prices will always come from overseas.' Mr Smith (pictured) had fired off a scathing letter to Aldi's owners this week, demanding to know 'when will enough be enough?'
When it comes to their expansion plans Mr Smith also informed the bosses of Coles, Woolworths and Metcash of his decision in a letter, thanking them for their support for almost 20 years. 'We have done everything we can to get our costs down by operating as leanly as possible with minimum staffing levels,' Mr Smith wrote. 'Of course, indirectly, many thousands of Australians have been employed through Dick Smith Foods. 'It is clear that it will become more difficult for small and medium sized Australian owned food processors utilising Australian produce to compete in the current marketplace.'
The business will be wound down over the next 12 months. Dick Smith Foods 'are made in Australia by Australian owned companies using Australian grown ingredients', the company's website says. The team behind Dick Smith Foods is 'quite small' with three direct employees. 'The staff employed directly by Dick Smith Foods are responsible for the management and marketing of the brand. As there are no manufacturing processes to oversee, the Dick Smith Foods' team is quite small.' 'All the products are produced by Australian-owned companies under a licensing agreement with Dick Smith Foods.'
Supermarkets To Blame For Downfall Movie
The business had also given more than $10 million to charity over its 19 years. Mr Smith said Aldi had 'taken billions of dollars of business from existing Australian owned companies' (stock image) Mr Smith had fired off a scathing letter to Aldi's owners this week, demanding to know 'when will enough be enough?' When it comes to their expansion plans. His comments came in response to the $40 billion privately-owned discount retailer being this month voted Australia's most trusted brand.
'In Australia your Aldi company has been phenomenally successful,' Mr Smith wrote in an open letter to Aldi owners Karl Albrecht Jnr and Beate Heister. 'It has not only taken billions of dollars of business from existing Australian owned companies, but it has now been voted the most trusted brand in Australia, and it has also been reported that it is our most profitable supermarket chain.' But Mr Smith claimed Aldi's operations were doing Australians out of a job. 'Your formula of employing less staff per dollar turnover compared to the typical Australian owned supermarkets will ultimately mean less Australians employed,' Mr Smith wrote. 'We already have a problem in Australia. We have 14 per cent youth unemployment and over 20 per cent youth underemployment – that is, where our young people can't get a proper full time career.'
Mr Smith also accused Aldi of being 'secretive' and said they had a duty to explain how their future plans will impact Australians. 'Our tradition here is one of openness. However I notice much of the reporting on your company mentions secretiveness. It appears that neither of you have ever conducted a media interview on your plans for the expansion of Aldi,' he said. Aldi has hit back, saying it has saved Australians more than $1.5 billion per year (stock image) 'Can I ask why you are so secretive? Surely being worth $30 billion US dollars (that's $40.63 billion Australian dollars) you have a responsibility to be open and explain your long term plans to all those who are affected.'
Mr Smith called on Aldi's owners to visit Australia 'and explain what you are planning to do in the medium and long term future that will affect our children and grandchildren'. Aldi Australia hit back stating the company proudly supported an Australian-first buying policy and had shared its growth with more than 1000 local suppliers and 11,500 Australian employees.
'As a privately owned business we have never sought to 'maximise' profits at the cost of something or someone else,' Chief Executive Tom Daunt said in a statement. 'Rather, we opt for long-term sustainable growth strategies.' Mr Daunt said Aldi was proud to have influenced the entire grocery sector 'which has led to price deflation benefiting all Australian shoppers'. Aldi opened its first store in Sydney in 2001 and filled a void in the discount supermarket business that arose when discount grocery chain Franklins went out of business. 'A strong purpose drives growth and profitability.
At ALDI we strive to provide our customers with high quality products at affordable prices. Losing focus of this purpose just adds costs. This might sound like a gross simplification of our business, but in our efforts to ensure efficiency this remains our driving purpose,' ALDI Australia CEO Tom Daunt said.
'Our focus on the essentials and our optimisation of the discount principle has made ALDI the successful Australian retailer it is today. We offer a consciously reduced, carefully selected range of food products and other daily necessities.
'ALDI has been operating in Australia for 17 years; the business started with two stores in NSW (Bankstown and Marrickville) and has now expanded to more than 500 stores. Today, ALDI employs more than 11,500 Australians and partners with more than 1,000 Australian suppliers to deliver our range of high quality products. 'Our exclusive brands form the heart of our core product range. 'Our estimates suggest that we are saving Australians more than $1.5 billion per year. This is money that is returned to the economy for bills, holidays, education and other vital expenses.
'Our international heritage and global presence is no secret, nor are our intentions in Australia. We want to supply great quality products at affordable prices. We do this by adopting a distinct business model that is different to our competitors. 'We proudly support an Australian first buying policy and have shared our growth with hundreds of Australian manufacturers and thousands of staff who have been direct benefactors of our business growth.
'We do not cut corners, we do not abuse our market power, we do not mislead our customers. We do not avoid tax payments, we do not squeeze our suppliers. We keep things simple and we focus our attention on what matters most to consumers. 'We are proud of the reputation we have built and feel strongly that the recognition we have earned as Australia's most trusted brand is a result of our commitment to openness, honesty and integrity in all our dealings.'