Waitrose launches first campaign for value range after Asda clash
Lucy TesserasWaitrose sent a legal letter to Asda last month after it unveiled plans for a similarly named budget range – Just Essentials by Asda.
Waitrose sent a legal letter to Asda last month after it unveiled plans for a similarly named budget range – Just Essentials by Asda.
Asda is set to invest £45m in the new budget range, as it seeks to regain its position as the UK’s second largest supermarket by market share.
The firm is promising further “significant investment” this year in areas including digital services, shop refurbishment, value and revenue diversification.
John Lewis and Waitrose have had separate customer directors since 2020, but are now introducing a pan-partnership customer director to develop a joint strategy, improve their customer capabilities, and launch a new loyalty proposition.
Waitrose showcases its festive favourites in a humorous campaign starring actress Ashley Jensen, as it parts ways with John Lewis at Christmas to ensure each brand has room to shine.
Waitrose customer director Martin George believes all generations of marketers share a number of key traits, though millennials are more “purposeful” with their action and work.
The John Lewis Partnership has reported strong results from its scheme to bring the John Lewis and Waitrose brands closer together, as well as from the launch of its value Anyday range.
The Covid crisis has flattened corporate hierarchies and bridged the generation gap between marketers with decades’ worth of experience and those just starting out, according to customer director Martin George.
Marketers cannot be an expert in everything, so instead they should home in on opportunities that excite them, advises Waitrose customer director Martin George.
Tesco CEO Ken Murphy claims it has strengthened its brand health across all metrics this year – but how does the supermarket compare to its UK competitors?
Isaacs joins the supermarket brand as the John Lewis Partnership undergoes a head office restructure, with part of her remit to explore opportunities to bring the Waitrose and John Lewis brands closer together.
From Boots and Cadbury to British Airways and the Post Office, Waitrose’s customer director has soaked up a wealth of marketing knowledge working across a variety of British brands during his 37 year career.
The partnership is hoping to recover from a severe loss with a strategy focused on local stores, a new pricing structure and closer integration between the John Lewis and Waitrose brands.
Has John Lewis and Waitrose’s “very different” approach to the Christmas ad this year paid off? Marketers certainly seem to think so.
The retailers say they felt they had no choice but to do something “entirely different” this year as they look to bring their brand promise to life.