Chief executive Mark Price said that, while the retailer’s loyal customers know that the price of staples – such as baked beans, milk and cornflakes – are the same as Sainsbury’s, some shoppers are unaware of this.
“Some customers don’t understand how price-competitive we are compared with other supermarkets,” said Price. “We won’t up the number of promotions we have in-store, because we offer a good range already, but the displays will be a bit more bold.”
Price said that Waitrose runs about 500 offers at any one time and will continue to do so. “The price message is key for customers at the moment, but, at Waitrose, this is not at the expense of quality,” he added.
Price said that about 2,500 products are the same price in Waitrose as in Sainsbury’s. The John Lewis Partnership-owned grocer will launch 130 gift lines priced under£5 this Christmas.
In the week when Prime Minister Gordon Brown, speaking at the G8 conference, urged consumers not to waste food in order to avert a food crisis, Price said that Waitrose is taking a hit to its margins of about 1.1 per cent because of food inflation and is investing in price promotions at the same time. He pointed to products such as new-season lamb, which has increased in cost price by 33 per cent but remains the same price in stores.
Price added that customers are trading down from restaurants to its stores. Sales of champagne are up 10 per cent year on year and sales of the retailer’s As Good As Going Out range of ready meals have increased 42 per cent.
“Everyone is finding it a bit tougher, but I’m not convinced we are heading for a recession,” said Price.
Separately, Waitrose has promoted its senior project manager, Anthony Wysome, to head of convenience, as it gears up to launch a convenience format within the next six to nine months (RW Online, July 9).
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