Sign in

Kien Tan

@kientan74.bsky.social
492 followers 382 following 2.8K posts

Retail consultant and analyst by day, gym instructor and beer drinker by night. All about shops, pubs, planes, gyms... and the views are mine, all mine.

PostsRepliesMedia
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 8h
How very nice to bump into you last night! Thanks for the beers - next time is on me 🍻
000
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 12h
🥳 Can. Not. Wait!
Headline saying “Home Bargains Staples Corner opening this week”Retail Week’s chart of the week showing Home Bargains is the UK’s favourite value retailer
220
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 12h
🛒 While everyone else is preoccupied with Sainsbury/Morrisons/Asda… FWIW, I thought Tesco’s interims today were pretty lacklustre: focused on profit instead of market share, large stores barely growing, Express tired and convenience in decline, Clubcard eclipsed by Nectar, etc etc
retail-week.com
Has Tesco’s grocery business neared its peak?
Tesco's winning streak of gaining market share faltered in its interim results, despite the grocery giant raising its full-year profit guidance and reporting an increase in sales.
020
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 16h
🏡 You're drunk, again, Zoopla...
Email from Zoopla advertising brand new homes in N1 under £400k
100
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 19h
🗳️ Even on election day, Zack is *doubling down” on moving to Camden 20 years ago…
Letter from Green Party to votersAngry goose meme
000
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Whether or not you agree with the sentiment, the replies are precisely what’s wrong with the electorate of this country: “What do retirees get?” “Unemployed get more than retirees!” 🤦‍♂️ x.com/xvrmdf/statu...
X post saying “A growing feature of the UK economy/society is this "dual-price" structure, where working people pay a full list price, but retirees and those on benefits receive a (taxpayer-subsidised) discount. 
It makes benefits/pensions much more valuable than their headline rates.”
010
Reposted by Kien Tan
Anthony Gladman @anthonygladman.com · 07/10/2026
Gin news 🍸 Could be trouble for Gordon's and Tanqueray over Christmas and into 2027. Workers at the Cameronbridge distillery have been on strike since last week. Unlike whisky, with its warehouses of stock, gin survives by flying out the door as soon as it's made. Strikes can stifle supply fast.
184
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
As a constituent, I find the presumption that the by election is a foregone conclusion irksome. While tinseltits may be a twat, the temptation to protest vote is strong…
010
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Interesting… but definitely incorrect in my case 🤦‍♂️
110
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Padel? Bougie or what?! (get well soon!)
010
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Confession time. I absolutely *hated* reading when I was a kid. School made you read such boring, archaic books - Dickens, Hardy, Tolkien et al. The first book I actually *enjoyed* reading was Jeffrey Archer's First Among Equals over a summer holiday when I was about 10 or 11. Yeah, I know...
130
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I get that nothing makes BlueSkyers happier than dunking on a Tory, but remember the median voter’s #1 concern is potholes. I don’t understand it either, but to dismiss it would be foolish
010
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
It beggars belief that there ISN’T a capital-wide regime for dockless bikes… What does the GLA actually *do*?
ianvisits.co.uk
One rule to ride them all: Mayor plans London-wide dockless bike regime
The Mayor of London has outlined plans for a single London-wide regulatory regime for dockless bikes that could replace the current borough-by-borough patchwork of rules.
000
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Gavin Barwell talking sense in the current "English ethnicity" debate
politicshome.com
Race-based attempts to define full English are a dog’s breakfast – nobody should swallow them
In the last few months, my social media feed has become increasingly full of people who sound a lot like the Death Eaters from Harry Potter, insist...
000
Reposted by Kien Tan
Gail Simone @gailsimone.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
You guys want to hear a short but adorable story that happened right in front of me at the baggage claim in NYC yesterday? I wasn't part of it and there are bits I didn't catch but holy crap, I can't stop thinking about it.
5440521215
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
…see also the cashback offers and loyalty schemes: At the moment I’m buying all my tickets from Transport for Wales, even if I’m nowhere near Wales, because it’s 5% cashback through Reward Gateway + 1.5% Airtime Rewards + 2% LNER perks even if you booked with another operator 🤯
000
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
What a difference having it on cask makes! It was tasting glorious last night at the launch at the Sutton Arms... Enjoy! 🍻
2 pints of Pressure Drop's Fast Gary on a table at the Sutton Arms
010
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Oh maaaate... I love a pint of cask, but there are only a handful of pubs in London I trust to look after it properly (and none of them overcharge!)
100
Reposted by Kien Tan
Andy Bruce (Reuters) @bruceandy.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Thorough and even-handed post from @robwoodecon.bsky.social on why, in his view, the UK's inflation problem is chronic rather than acute www.linkedin.com/pulse/uk-inf...
linkedin.com
UK inflation: from acute to chronic… with a tentative warning
Has UK inflation really been heading comfortably back to target? The bulk of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has been arguing in the affirmative for some time—but for the war we'd be s...
052
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
First officer attacked the captain with *an axe*…
paddleyourownkanoo.com
Captain of Flydubai Plane Involved in Mid-Air Terror Incident Recounts Heroic Effort to Open Bulletproof Cockpit Door
The Captain of a Flydubai plane to Tel Aviv, who was horrifically injured when his First Officer attacked him with a crash axe kept in the cockpit as the plane flew at 34,000 feet over Saudi Arabia, h...
010
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I think it’s because We Are Old 😭
static.klipy.com
Absolutely Fabulous: Women Grab Champagne
ALT: Absolutely Fabulous: Women Grab Champagne
121
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
static.klipy.com
Steve Carell: Cheers To That
ALT: Steve Carell: Cheers To That
010
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Aero-what? You're just talking shit now, eh?
Email from Starbucks advertising an "aerocano"
200
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I mean, I get why HFP are pushing it so hard (£££), but it is... niche.
010
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
That's ok... You should always read reviews from worst to best anyway - it's funnier that way 😁
110
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I *may* have reviewed a couple of places along the lines of "I don't normally do reviews like this, but this place is great" (i.e. they gave us free dessert in return for reviews - I'm not an idiot!)
110
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
One of the gyms I go to has installed “productivity pods” in the member lounge area… which will come in handy, except I keep thinking I’m in a WeWork or mid-range airline lounge…
Six square lounge chairs with integrated desksTwo lounge chairs in a pod, each with a desk and power sockets
310
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
⚡ ...not really, no thanks Boots
Email from Boots titles "Fancy an electrical treat?"
010
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I mean, leading question or what? ...especially because the savings from making it a double-lock are *in absolutely no way sufficient* to cover even the tiniest fraction of the cost of a national care service for at least a generation...
001
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
🛫 Avgeeky follow up from yesterday… Paxex on Skyalps: pretty good! Free food and drink service consisting of exclusively South Tyrol products: sweet was Loacker wafers from Bolzano; and savoury was Speck cured ham with crackers. LGW was easy (but LCY would’ve been better: can Dash 8s land there?)
Skyalps Dash 8 disembarking on stand at Gatwick Window view of the DolomitesInflight snack of South Tyrolean pinot noir, speck ham and crackers
130
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The reason why there are takeaways and bookies on high streets is because people use them. Saying you don't want KFC and Ladbrokes is like saying you don't like your neighbours. And the reason there isn't a bookshop, deli or florist because you use Amazon... www.ft.com/content/1bc8...
FT article about "The West London high street fighting against bookies and chicken shops"Quote from FT article that "A campaign survey found that 75% of respondents wanted another bakery... with a bookshop, delicatessen and florist also popular options"
130
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
🛍 Notwithstanding the errors @danneidle.bsky.social found in CEBR's methodology, *some* parts of the UK would gain from VAT-free tourist shopping... Of course it'd benefit Regent Street and Bicester; it's just that everyone else will have to pay for it 🤷‍♂️
120
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Timeline cleanse… 📌 Bolzano airport (BZO), Italy
View of the Dolomites across the apron at Bolzano airportView of the Dolomites across the apron at Bolzano airportBoarding the stairs onto a Skyalps Q400 Dash 8
140
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
What a bitch…
Telegraph headline saying “There’s no excuse for being fat”
120
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Prost, Keith! 🍻
Two people drinking Festbier in the Spaten Oktoberfest tent
010
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
*I am of course in Bruneck aka Brunico - darn autocorrect… quaint Italian mountain town, not jazz musician…
010
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Just to prove I happily work at both ends of the culinary scale… Edinburgh’s Mosque Kitchen vs. Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler in Brubeck in the Dolomites €500 per head, 3 Michelin Stars, and *worth every penny*:
140
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
…and encourage less scrupulous actors to claim for things they are not entitled to and/or create fictitious problems
100
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
...and mine too!
000
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Shhh, don't tell everybody! I go to Mosque Kitchen every time I'm there - so damn good... (sorry for the terrible photo)
Dinner at Mosque Kitchen
130
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Somebody needs to tell the PM that you can't force people to want to go to Manchester just by *smacking down London*... (Statistical note: Manchester airport has as many runways as Heathrow, but fewer than half as many flights)
ft.com
Burnham’s opposition to Heathrow expansion puts third runway in doubt
New prime minister has been a longstanding critic of the project
110
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
🏝️ If VisitEngland doesn’t know why British people would rather go to Spain or Greece than visit the slightly underwhelming British coast… Babe, it ain’t to do with Andy B’s visitor tax, but You Do You.
visitbritain.org
VisitEngland launches national campaign to boost coastal breaks and drive visitor spending
VisitEngland is launching a major national campaign to inspire more people to book a coastal getaway, boosting visits and visitor spending in England's coastal destinations through the autumn and into...
020
Reposted by Kien Tan
Saeed Jones @theferocity.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
This thread! 🫨🫨🫨
625031
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Well… we could have… something something… not voted to Leave… something something 🤪
120
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Hmmm, yeah, not so quiet any more… …and after queue #1, there’s queue #2 🤦‍♂️
Another queue for non-EU passport holders at Munich……which turns the corner into yet another queue for passport control
110
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
...which is such a shame because Lufthansa was quite nice, and I don't think I've flown them for a decade or more? Anyway, would recommend (apart from queueing at the border longer than the flight. So far)
Poster board by the boarding door of Lufthansa A320neoLufthansa buy on board meal of pretzel and IPA
120
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Sorry to disappoint. After you finish Long Queue #1, then you go to Long Queue #2… 😭
Another long queue for non-EU passport control at Munich airport
000
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Mmmm, nope, the EU definitely hasn’t fixed the EES registration and entry procedure yet…
Queue for EES preregistration at Munich Airport - still ahead…Queue for EES preregistration at Munich Airport - behind me…
330
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
🗳️ Spoke too soon…
Zack Polanski in a Meta advert
000
Kien Tan @kientan74.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Waitrose x Amol Rajan... ...is that the media equivalent of a company partnering with Brewdog because they think it's cool and cutting edge?
Linkedin post from Waitrose announcing it is partnering with Amol Rajan
000