Now that the supermarket formerly known has Tesco has transmogrified into Lotuthithith is it better, worse or just the same?
Nongbualamphu only has Makro and Lotus's and a couple of small independents, so not too much choice. Things I miss in the new look Lotus's:
1. "Gordons" gin. No longer offered. Not sold at Makro or the independent liquor stores here. For anything finer than paraffin it is an hour to Udon Thani.
2. Dog chews. Lotus's still sells a similar product but my dogs really liked the Tesco version and are a bit sniffy about other stuff. A bit like me and cheap gin. I sympathise with them.
3. Wine. I seldom bought any wine at Tesco and none at Lotus's, it just seems to me that the selection now is smaller and items are often missing. The displays of Thai spirits appear bigger. It feels like they are racing Makro to the bottom rather than trying to distinguish their offerings.
4. Lotus's don't seem to manage their supply chain as well as Tesco did. Last visit there were no tomatoes, before that no "Ritter" chocolate. Recently they had no milk. Their bread range is not the same and is sometimes an empty shelf.
To be honest, I can't think of anything that Lotus's now offers that looks better than when it was Tesco. Maybe that is just me.