Asda takes on discounters with ‘biggest ever value campaign’
Asda is countering the rise of the discounters by investing £50m in cutting prices across everyday items in the first quarter of this year, a move it says will “even make the Poundshop and Aldi look expensive”.
The price offensive – which sees the cost of items such as broccoli and Kingsmill 50/50 bread rolled back to 50p and products such as Muller Greek Light yoghurt and Domestos bleach cut to £1 – launches today (2 January) and will be supported by a marketing campaign created by VCCP Blue running across TV, print and radio.
The January push forms part of the supermarket’s five-year strategy to invest £1bn in lowering its prices and £250m in improving the quality, style and design of its products and stores. The investments are funded through savings generated by Asda’s ongoing “we operate for less” cost saving programme, as well as the “global leveraging power” it has with parent company Walmart.
Barry Williams, Asda’s chief merchandising officer, says the supermarket’s decision to invest the first £200m of its £1bn pricing investment in 2014 – a 54% increase on 2013 – is “further proof that we are fully committed to lowering prices” and will help it significantly widen the gap with its rivals and close the gap on discounters.
He adds: “When customers shop at Asda, they want to know that they are always getting the best quality products at the lowest prices. 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.”
The latest marketing effort from Asda follows its Christmas campaign which sought to highlight the quality of its award-winning products rather than just focus on price like the majority of its previous advertising.
Last month Asda CMO Stephen Smith told Marketing Week the supermarket’s ad tracking measures showed its quality message was resonating with consumers and that it now would look to communicate quality messages throughout the year rather than just at “key moments”.
Asda is also taking part in the Government’s Change4Life “Smart Swaps” campaign, by pointing customers towards healthy alternatives across categories such as soft drinks, butters and cheeses for as little as 75p.
