UK retailer Waitrose is expanding its Brand Price Match, which it says offers prices identical to Tesco on branded goods.
The upmarket grocer has matched prices on 1,000 branded lines since September 2010 and has now extended the offer to 7,000 products, it said today (2 May).
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Waitrose managing director Mark Price said: “As you would expect from Waitrose, there are no gimmicks, no coupons to redeem against a later shop, and no need to check your receipt online. We simply match the prices on the shelf, so you benefit immediately.
“And all this comes with the same high quality food and service you expect from our partners whose ownership of our business means we will always put you first.”
The move comes after retail giant Tesco announced a GBP1bn (US$1.55bn) investment in its UK business to revive its flagging domestic operation last month.
Shore Capital analyst Clive Black said he sees Waitrose’s price matching with Tesco as a move that “does not kick off a price war or anything like it”.
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By GlobalDataHowever, he added: “It does perhaps narrow the exclusive territory that Sainsbury has operated within from a brand value message perspective, so perhaps eroding some Brand Match potency.”
Black said Waitrose’s offer of free online delivery on all purchases over GBP50 makes it a “very strong value proposition” and suggests Waitrose is now in “strong operational shape after some initial technical niggles”.
