Waitrose MD Mark Price revealed yesterday he had consulted his own mum, whom he jokingly referred to as the oracle of retail, about the growth of the discounters.
At the presentation for the full-year results of John Lewis Partnership, Price said he asked her whether she had ever shopped at a discounter and was surprised to learn that his mum had been to Aldi.
The revelation about the shopping habits of Price’s mum demonstrates one thing clearly. The rise of the discounters affects retailers of every hue – even an upmarket one like Waitrose.
For Price, the rise of the German discounters is one of the two big strategic issues facing the industry – the other being the growth of online.
So how is Waitrose responding? It is taking a patriotic approach. The word British seemed to slip into every sentence when Price spoke about the discounters and once it made it in three times.
“We have focused on selling British products from British suppliers and we’re pleased to say that the British public are responding to that.”
He even put a patriotic spin on the Waitrose policy of giving free hot drinks away to its myWaitrose cardholders.
“We have taken a very British approach giving customers free coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon,” he quipped.
His comments echo those from Morrisons at its National Kick-Off conference in Liverpool a couple of weeks ago when the Bradford-based retailer outlined its vision to be a “value-led grocer that is British born and bred”.
We hear time and time again that in the wake of the horsemeat scandal, provenance has never been more important to consumers.
Of all the grocers, Morrisons and Waitrose have flown the British flag higher than most and rightly so. They are both champions of British farming and have top-notch local sourcing practices.
However, there is a danger here. Buying British often means paying more.
While the Waitrose shopper may be willing to pay more for good quality British products, for many Morrisons shoppers price takes precedence over provenance. Being British may prove a more effective strategy for Waitrose than its rivals.
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