The UK’s two largest supermarkets, Tesco and Asda, have both announced price cuts this week but downplayed reports that this could be the beginning of a “price war”.
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“A “price war” was not our intention, it’s what the media has turned it into,” a spokesperson for Asda told just-food today (27 June). “We simply launched a weekend promotion designed to keep prices down for our customers. At the same time Tesco has launched a similar promotion.”
This weekend Asda will drop the price of ten “top selling” groceries, including bread, butter, eggs, fruit and vegetables, to GBP0.50 (US$0.99).
“Customers can cash in on the offer safe in the knowledge that ASDA is footing the bill and costs will not be passed on to suppliers,” Asda said.
“This is the latest in a string of price investments reinforcing the retailer’s position as Britain’s lowest-priced supermarket,” the UK unit of Wal-Mart added.
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By GlobalDataMeanwhile, Tesco also claimed to be the UK’s best value supermarket.
“Tesco is second to none at giving customers great value and we know how important it is right now to help people to make ends meet,” a spokesperson for the company told just-food.
Tesco said it has cut 5,000 prices this week and plans to introduce a further 3,000 cuts from Monday.
“Customers will see a range of promotions such as buy one, get one free,” Tesco said.
Additionally, the spokesperson said that with rising fuel prices customers will receive money off at the pumps: “We know fuel costs as well as food bills are a real concern so from Monday we’ll also be giving customers who spend GBP50 or more in store or on dot.com a voucher giving 5p off every full litre of fuel bought up to 100 litres.”
The moves come as UK consumers have begun tightening their belts in response to the global economic downturn, credit crunch and rising prices.
