Asda is cutting the price of key products such as Kingsmill bread and Heinz soup to just 50p as it aims to make discount stores look expensive.
Kicking off a £50m investment in price cuts in the first quarter, the retailer said today it would be offering broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, iceberg lettuce and spring onions at 50p, as well as cupboard staples such as pasta, WeightWatchers soup, porridge, biscuits, tinned tomatoes and Dairylea Triangles.
“This January, we are offering more value than ever before across our stores on the products that people actually [buy] week in, week out. With hundreds of products at 50p, we’re even making the poundshop and Aldi look expensive,” said Asda’s chief merchandising officer for food Barry Williams.
“With hundreds of products at 50p, we’re even making the poundshop and Aldi look expensive”
Barry Williams, Asda
The price cuts in Q1 mark the beginning of Asda’s five-year strategy to invest £1bn in prices, announced in November. The supermarket will put £200m into lowering prices in 2014 alone, compared to £130m in 2013.
Asda also said it would help shoppers “clean up after Christmas” by rolling back prices on 150 cleaning products – including Flash Gel, Domestos and Comfort – to £1.
The supermarket said the price cuts would be funded by its ongoing ‘We Operate For Less’ cost-saving programme, as well as through the global leveraging power it has with its parent company Walmart.
The price cuts will be supported by an above-the-line campaign – including TV, print and radio slots – by VCCP Blue.
“When customers shop at Asda, they want to know that they are always getting the best quality products at the lowest prices,” Williams added. “The investments we are making in price mean we can guarantee to be 10% cheaper than the competition, day in day out. We won’t achieve this through confusing vouchering schemes or other price gimmicks but through simple and honest pricing and significant and lasting investment.”
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