At Marks & Spencer, they call it the Tabasco question: should the retailer end its own-brand diktat and stock iconic products that people really like, like Marmite and Tabasco?
In May, M&S confirmed that it would trial the sale of 350 brands to check whether shoppers really wanted them. The answer, M&S chairman Sir Stuart Rose revealed over lunch at his Paddington HQ today, is "no".
Perhaps he was just throwing out a duff smoke signal to his rivals, but the debonair retailer said: "We have done a trial for some 15 weeks in 20 stores in the North East of 300 'must-have' branded lines... I don't want to call the result in the sense that we have decided what to do yet, since we won't have to do that until after Christmas - but it's true to say that quite a lot of our customers say: 'I don't know why you've done that? We don't need it'."
It looks like M&S will be going on the offensive over price, though.
Rose indicated last week that he would lower prices to retain customers tempted by budget rivals. Today he acknowledged: "The option for people to go to alternatives is there and we've seen a trickle effect and the well-known Aldi effect has been discussed in the newspapers ad nauseum in the last few weeks. We have to decide how we react to that."
Setting out his strategy for attracting shoppers on tighter budgets, he explained: "The first thing we are not going to prostitute our quality standards; the second thing is that we are determined to do is to up our innovation. And the third thing we are doing now - probably a little for the longer term - is to recognise that we have to sharpen our values.
"For instance, it's talked about that we're more expensive than Waitrose. Take a list of 600 items in our catalogue, we are like-for-like with Waitrose - yet there is a common misapprehension that we are X or Y more expensive."
Reading between the lines, what he seemed to be suggesting, was that M&S not only has to be cheaper; customers have to think it is cheaper. Marks and Spencer's meal for two with wine for £10 has been a great success. We'll see more of that kind of promotion at Marks.
End the misguided charge for carrier bags for a start, donation to charity should be voluntary. Follow the CoOp and provide degradable bags that compost.
Posted by: Michael Gill | Thursday, 13 November 2008 at 07:12 AM
It was always a daft idea to have "brands" in M&S. I don't want to see shelves full of Fairy Liquid (or whatever) when I go into M&S. And how often does anyone buy Marmite or Tabasco? Once or twice a year, maybe.
I wonder if his Lordship thought of asking shoppers before he introduced brands; presumably not or he would have got his answer in May not November.
What a waste of money. No wonder their profits are down.
Posted by: CB | Thursday, 13 November 2008 at 05:19 PM
I don't think M&S needs brands. It shouldn't attempt to emulate the other supermarkets, because they already do what it's been considering, and probably better than M&S could hope to do (certainly in the short/medium-term); thus it will lose its focus and be outcompeted.
I also think it pointless for M&S to attempt to produce cheaper, ultimately nastier food, since its customers expect quality, and understand such costs more. It shouldn't try to mimic others who already do the cost-cutting thing, unless they plan to change their name to 'Asda' or something, in which case I'll never set foot in the store again.
Posted by: Simon | Friday, 14 November 2008 at 12:34 AM
M&S is quality to me but I do object to paying for carrier bags. I have stood next to people in the check-out who bring out the most disgusting looking bags, putting them on the packing area to put their goods in. The next person's foods is put in the same area - where's they hygiene in that? I recycled carrier bags before the charge came in by using them in my kitchen bin; why not just give away recycleable bags? As for saying that the money for carrier bags goes to charity - which one? And how do you know it's a charity I would like to give to?
I have spent less in M&S since the charges came in - my weekly bill was always around £120.
Posted by: WJC | Saturday, 06 December 2008 at 09:58 PM
I don't mind paying for carrier bags provided it is a neutral bag. I will not pay for the privilege of advertising the M&S brand while walking up and down the High Street. I've taken my business to Waitrose.
Posted by: Verena | Sunday, 28 December 2008 at 12:13 PM