Find a better branch?
Guy
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Damn… I want chocolate…
The local brands are ‘better’, contain more sugar.
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Nooooo! 
Guy
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“conditions announced by the FTC for the takeover on Friday included measures to protect the rights of small and medium suppliers”
Taiwan is going to f*** themselves like America, focusing too much of the food chain supply into to few suppliers.
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Hmmmm implications? Not as much food as now from Europe? That would be sad and the last nail in the coffin… I already started to buy stuff at PX Mart since Carrefour seems to be more expensive when it comes to beef.
Taiwan is already far more f’ed up than the US for national grocery supply — Jason’s is Carrefour (and its called Mia c’est bon, I know), wellcome long ago became Carrefour… basically you have Carrefour and PxMart for major groceries, a smattering of small shops where there is zero guarantee of freshness of anything, your traditional markets, some “organic” stores that sell everything at a 30% mark up, and Costco. I’m not counting SimpleMart because it’s only barely better than a convenience store. I think that’s everything?
I think the US is already still better off — the Kroger + Albertsons merger got blocked, there’s Walmart, (Sams Club), Costco, and Aldi. Target isn’t the end of the world for grocery (they have enough that you can feed your family, even if the selection isnt great). Trader Joe’s is sufficient if you’re not too picky (and very reasonably priced). And then Whole Foods/Amazon if you like to pay a super premium for mediocre food. And if you don’t live in a food dessert, there’s usually farmers markets as the seasons allow, although those give you a good glance into what food costs when it isn’t subsidized…
So I’d say the US has a safer grasp of grocery stores than TW, unless I missed something?
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RT-Mart as well, and I guess City Super etc.
I’d count SimpleMart as a convenience store too. I actually didn’t know they existed until I’d been here about four years (I think they’re more common in New Taipei, but there’s one close to my current apartment I didn’t know about until I’d lived here at least two years).
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Oh, I need to find these cheaper organic stores you write of!
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RT-Mart is PX mart. Carrefour and 7-11 is uni president.
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You’re right, I had forgotten this!
Guy
Simple mart has good beer and olive oil
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Simple Mart could be rebranded as Simple Mars attending to the beers they sell… Simple Mart was the one reason why I opened this thread:
Damn… I’m going to Simple Mart to see what cheapo beer I can drink now.
I don’t think I’ve ever been in an RT-Mart, but I’m shocked at how stupidly quickly the government isn’t doing anything to block all these mergers. Someone on here said that Costco is under so much scrutiny (Hepatitis stuff) because of their reasonable prices pissing off all the other distributors. It certainly looks like Uni-President and Carrefour are trying to get rid of the only legitimate competition (which cannot be bought, cuz Costco is its own thing)
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I discovered SimpleMart a couple months ago and lived here for years. I would have been fine not discovering it for another several years.
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You can get fresh produce at Simple Mart. Things you can’t buy at convenience stores.
Yes, very good beer deals. They offer discounts for buying 3 or 4 at a time, which convenience stores do too, but Simple Mart has unusual brands. My favorite is Barley , a tall 9.0 ABV can for like NT$45 or so, less with the discount. Their wine and liquor selection is good too. Most things seem priced well and they offer other discounts for food items bought 2 or more at a time too.
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before: 大統集團, which held a 45 percent stake. now: zero
Maybe should buy 大統集團/ president stock
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It’s taken me a few reads to understand this, but it sounds like TW’s Costcos are now owned exclusively by the US Costco, booting Uni-President out? If that’s the case, good. It means someone outside of TW can pull the strings on a major grocery (“hypermarket”) and keep Carrefour and PxMart in check. I’m not sure why you’d want to invest in Uni-President stock in that case though?
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I love Masa !!