HHCL retains £14m task at Iceland.co.uk

Supermarket chain Iceland.co.uk is to retain HHCL & Partners (HHCL) on its &£14.4m advertising account after hearing presentations from at least four other advertising agencies.

Iceland confirms in a statement that, following “completion of a regular review of advertising support”, it is to continue to use HHCL, which was appointed in October 1998 (MW October 29 1998), as its advertising and brand consultant.

According to a company spokeswoman, Iceland’s media buying – handled by MediaCom – is not under review.

The decision comes as the retailer unveils a line of own-brand value products called Great Value. The 52-item range comes in white packaging and harks back to Iceland’s roots as a value retailer.

In June 2000 the retailer, under founder Malcolm Walker, abandoned its positioning and started focusing on selling organic food on a large scale. But it was forced to change tack again following a decline in sales.

Holding company The Big Food Group reported a fall in sales at Iceland of 3.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the eight weeks to March 1.

Under new chief executive Bill Grimsey, Iceland is to open up to 80 new stores by 2005, with a renewed focus on frozen food. It has also unveiled a new store format aimed at commuters.