After a couple of disappointing Christmas trading periods in the last two years Morrisons appears to have cut its cloth accordingly, reducing the number of Christmas lines from 900 to 700 this year.
Gone are some of the more outlandish, left-field lines in favour of a more focussed offer, based around traditional classics at affordable prices.
That’s not to say Morrisons hasn’t got anything to get the mouth watering as there are still plenty of tasty dishes created by executive chef Neil Nugent and his product development team. Think products with broad appeal and a fair few chef-y touches thrown in to tempt the foodies.
As always with Morrisons the big guns are prepared via its Market Street teams of butchers, bakers and fishmongers. This year’s centrepiece is a British Turkey Bomb. Made in store, the turkey crown is wrapped in bacon to keep the meat moist and succulent with a stuffing centre. And to go with it Morrisons has all the trimmings taken care of from the traditional goose fat roast potatoes to salted caramel parsnips, Christmas tree cheesy croquettes and cranberry and sage potato baubles.
For those looking for an alternative to turkey, Morrisons has British Chateaubriand, a Stuffed Lamb Guard of Honour or an M Signature Cheddar, chestnut and apple Wellington.
Away from the food, Morrisons has added more decorations than before, ramped up its Nutmeg clothing range and will be leveraging its Flower World business, with florists now operating in around 200 stores.
Star product: British turkey bomb. The retailer will be hoping for explosive sales of the meaty centrepiece
Verdict: A sensible approach by Morrisons after a couple of lacklustre years. It will be hoping its back-to-basics approach will strike the right note with core shoppers, while its fancy flourishes may just stop some shoppers heading to the discounters this year.
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