ONE of the world's most successful supermarket bosses, Sir Terry Leahy, who took the British chain Tesco from a struggling, third-ranked competitor in its home market to one of the biggest grocers in the world, has a message for Woolworths and Coles: there is a limit to how much private label goods can dominate their shelves.
Sir Terry knows what he is talking about. Tesco helped drive the proliferation of private labels in Britain's supermarkets, and when Woolworths revealed its new strategy last year to match a resurgent Coles and improve its own bottom line, it named Tesco as the world's leading supermarket when it came to house brand penetration as a proportion of total sales.
''Like so many strategies it depends on how you execute,'' Sir Terry told BusinessDay from London. ''The UK consumer has always trusted private label, as much as anything because of Marks & Spencer, and Marks & Spencer is 100 per cent private label, and so the UK consumer were used to that offering and then Tesco developed it for a wider market and has had a lot of success.
''But there is a natural level, or natural limit, from sector to [supermarket] sector, between 30 and 50 per cent, and it's very important that you let the consumer choose. Don't force the choice for the customer.''
For Tesco, that limit is roughly 40 to 45 per cent of all sales, and the retailer stands out among its global peers in the penetration of unbranded groceries. Woolworths and Coles are believed to have a private label penetration of only 10 to 15 per cent - but are keen to increase that quickly. Kroger and Safeway in the US have closer to 25 per cent private label penetration, Walmart (US) and Britain's Sainsbury's more than 40 per cent.
Sir Terry sounded a note of caution to manufacturers and suppliers who have been grumbling as their branded goods are replaced by supermarket-owned groceries on shelves. ''That's not necessarily a bad thing for manufacturers. Some manufacturers will concentrate on brands only and some will concentrate on private label supply.''
He said supermarkets needed to have close relationships with these suppliers. ''The entire reputation of that organisation [supermarket] is dependent on those [private label] products and therefore you have to make sure the product you buy is safe, high quality and attractive.
''Therefore you have got to make sure you are paying the suppliers enough so that they can invest in their business. It just makes no commercial sense for a supermarket like Coles or Woolworths to press down on costs so much, because it's their name on the label.''
Under Sir Terry's guidance, Tesco increased the number of its British stores from 568 in 1997 to 2482 in 2011, when he retired. It increased the number of foreign stores from 190, mostly in France, to 2329 in 13 countries. Annual sales rose from £13.8 billion to nearly £60 billion in 2010.
Sir Terry said online sales would be a key driver of growth for supermarkets in the future.
Source: www.smh.com.au
Tesco Bank cuts personal loan rate to just 6% as battle for best borrowers heats up - This is Money
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Tesco Bank has reduced the interest rates on its personal loans, offering borrowing between 7,500 and 15,000 at just 6 per cent.
While this does deliver one of the best rates on the market, supermarket rival Sainsbury’s just pips Tesco to the top spot with an interest rate of 5.9 per cent.
The rate cut from Tesco increases the pressure at the top end of the personal loans market, where lenders are competing for the best borrowers.
Rate cut: Tesco Bank loans get more competitive thanks to new interest rate cuts
While both Tesco and Sainsbury’s loans are available to new and existing customers, Sainsbury’s bank does require customer to hold a Nectar card. Since getting the supermarket loyalty card is free, it’s worth the effort of applying if you want the very best rate.
But those enticed by the low rates should remember that they will only be offered to borrowers at the top of the credit rating tree, rules allow up to 49 per cent of applicants accepted for loans to be offered higher interest rates than the representative one advertised.
Tesco has cut rates for all loans ranging from 5,000 and 25,000, but the keenest rates from both providers are found between 7,500 and 15,000.
Borrowing 7,500 from Sainsbury’s over 36 months at the representative 5.9 per cent would see customers paying 682.80 in interest, while the equivalent loan with Tesco would cost 694.68.
However, if you’re looking to borrow between 15,000 and 25,000, Tesco’s rate cuts put it ahead of Sainsbury’s, offering 7.8 per cent interest compared with 8 per cent.
But in this category it is Clydesdale Bank that beats them both, offering a market leading 7.7 per cent.
Customers should bear in mind that borrowing over a longer period than three years will see the interest rates rise.
Consider a low rate card
For borrowing smaller amounts, it is worth considering a low rate credit card as an alternative to a personal loan. Borrowing 2,500 from a loan provider would incur an interest rate of 18.5 per cent over 36 months, even with the most competitive loan currently on the market. That would mean paying back 713 in interest over the life of the loan.
Borrowing the same amount over the same period on Sainsbury's market-leading low rate credit card would mean paying interest of 6.9 per cent, and paying back 274.83 over the life of the loan. That's a saving of 438.17.
Sainsbury’s Bank has its own standard low-rate card; a market-leading 6.9 per cent APR card on both new purchases and balance transfers. The offer is only available to Nectar Card customers and to those who do not have an existing Sainsbury’s credit card.
Barclaycard Platinum Simplicity offers a rival low rate card with a 7.9 per cent APR.
Source: www.thisismoney.co.uk
Asda to roll out in-store summer marketing programme - Brand Republic
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Asda is rolling out a nationwide programme of retail events to support this summer's key summer occasions, beginning with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Asda: invites customers to write messages to the Queen The Jubilee-based activity, which kicks off next ...Source: www.brandrepublic.com
Aldi selling $249 Android 4.0 tablet next week - Australian Techworld
Aldi's 9.7" Android Tablet will go on sale Wednesday 6 June for just $249
German supermarket chain Aldi will next week begin selling an Android tablet running Google's latest Ice Cream Sandwich software for just $249.
Set to go on sale next Wednesday 6 June, the Android tablet has a 9.7in display, 16GB of internal memory and a 2-megapixel rear-facing camera but does not include GPS. The device will be powered by a 1GHz single-core Amlogic Cortex A9 processor, has 1GB of RAM and a microSD card slot that allows users to expand the memory.
The Aldi advertisement links to the brand Bauhn, which says the product will allows users to "a beautifully designed, 9.7" slimline tablet running Android 4.0."
"Enjoy the latest Android technology with the Bauhn Tablet including a large 9.7" capacitive multi touch screen, 16GB Hard Drive, Wi Fi connectivity and HDMI output," the product page states. "The Bauhn tablet is perfect for all your entertainment and online needs including watching movies, listening to music, emailing friends, surfing the web and using social media such as Facebook and Twitter."
Other features of the Bauhn tablet (model number AMID-971R) include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, a VGA front-facing camera for video calls and a range of ports including mini-USB, mini-HDMI, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. The tablet will be bundled with a a mini-HDMI cable for connecting the device to a high-definition television and will also come with a carry bag.
The Bauhn-Aldi tablet comes on the back of cut price Australian manufacturer and retailer Kogan unveiling two budget Android tablets earlier this week. Like the Bauhn device, both of Kogan Agora's tablets run the latest 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich version of Google's Android operating system.
The Bauhn 9.7in Android tablet will be available through Aldi stores in limited stocks. The company says stocks of the device will vary between stores and may sell out on the first day due to "unexpected high demand."
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Source: www.techworld.com.au
Lovely Jubilee: All the tiaras, tat and treasures you need in your life (now) - Daily Mirror
The Queen is celebrating 60 years as Monarch this year, with the Diamond Jubilee celebrations spread over a double Bank Holiday weekend, this weekend!
Diamonds! The Queen! Jubilation! Days Off! Hoo-HRH-ah etc!
The long weekend doesn't just give you ample opportunity to perv on Prince Harry some more though - oh no - it's a perfect excuse to shop like a Queen (and dress like Ma'am too).
3AM's ROYALLY BIG SHOP!
L-R: Motel £25; Linea @ House of Fraser £1043; Poppy Delevingne models Nails Inc Jubilee varnish £15; Nodding corgi @ Urban Outfitters £6; River Island watch £15 & Topshop dress £45
L-R: Joules £44.95; Topshop £6; Nails Inc Jubilee varnish £15; Joules £36.95; Topshop £35 & Liberty £150
L-R: HRHis & HRHer tats @ Urban Outfitters £5; Elemis British Collection £45 (save £34) 0117 316 1888; Jou Jou @ John Lewis £40; John Lewis £15; John Lewis £28 & John Lewis deckchair £44
L-R: Urban Outfitters tea caddy £10; Jumper Topshop £38; Prince Phillip mask @ Urban Outfitters £5; cake decorations Urban Outfitters £6; Tea cup fascinator Topshop £12 & Ted Baker make up bag £19
L-R: Prince HUBBAHUBBAHRNKHRNK Harry mask @ Urban Outfitters £5; Berkley Girl Fashionista pampering pack; Dorothy Perkins £25.20 & corgi bag Topshop £18
L-R: Topshop £15; Clarks @ ASOS.com £71; ASOS £22; Topshop pump £22 & ASOS shades £12...
Long weekends were made for shopping! Let the countdown commence... x
Source: www.mirror.co.uk
Asda parking still causing problems - Luton News
AN irate Asda customer has contacted the Herald&Post to say that parking is still an issue at the Wigmore store.
Phill Upton, who lives behind the supermarket, received a parking fine of £60 last week which stated he had been on the site for almost six hours.
“This is disgusting,” he fumed. “I live at the back of Asda so wouldn’t need to park there that long.”
He claimed he made two separate credit card transactions on the day in question and added: “If the cameras are incorrect, it’s not the customer’s fault.”
The Herald&Post highlighted a similar problem in July last year.
Several customers complained that they had received penalty charge notices (PCNs) of £60 after they had visited the store twice in one day.
National parking enforcement company Town and City Parking was forced to apologise, blaming a “system glitch”.
We were unable to get in touch with the firm yesterday, but an Asda spokeswoman said: “We introduced number plate recognition in our Luton store to ensure our 8,000 valued weekly customers could find a space.
“The system is designed to deter people who aren’t using the car park for shopping from taking a space from a customer. If anyone feels they have been issued a parking notice in error, then we’d encourage them to contact the store directly so that we can investigate on their behalf.”
> Have you had problems parking at Asda? Our contact details are on page 2.
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Print this pageSource: www.lutontoday.co.uk
Mobile site review: Asda - Econsultancy
More than 6% of the retailer’s orders are currently placed on a mobile device, so it has launched smartphone apps and a mobile optimised site to cater for this demand.
The iPhone app has already been downloaded by more than half a million people in six months and its new Android app has clocked up 75,000 downloads since last month.
With more than 10m customers registered online, the mobile site is also a major opportunity for driving sales.
We recently reviewed the mobile checkouts for the top 20 online retailers, so how does Asda’s stack up?
As with most major grocery stores, Asda has branched out into selling clothes and electronics. For the purposes of this review, I’ll focus on the groceries section of the mobile site.
Homepage
When you initially land on the homepage it looks a bit too busy. A pop-up tries to get you to download Asda’s mobile app and you are asked to register before you even see any product options.
Asking users to register at the checkout is known to cause customers to abandon purchases, so hitting them with it as soon as they arrive on the homepage can be off-putting.
Furthermore, when you scroll down the page you are given options for ‘Amazing deals’ and ‘Great deals on’, but no product categories.
Mobile sites need to make purchases as simple as possible, so the fact that you have to navigate past two pages before you see any product categories risks causing impatient customers to go elsewhere.
On the plus side, the search function is prominently displayed and a banner ad links directly to barbecue food, which will make the purchase journey quicker for a lot of customers.
Navigation
To start browsing products you need to click the ‘Shop’ icon at the top of the page. The search function remains at the top of the page and product categories are displayed in a list below. While the layout is easy to use, the dropdown menus contain a huge amount of sub-categories
Also, the top sub-category on each list is ‘We think you’ll love’, which offers product suggestions. Mobile customers tend to be impatient and are unlikely to want to browse product ideas so this tab seems like another unnecessary obstacle.
When you select a sub-category you are then linked to another list of products options. This can be filtered by brand, type or price/kg, which is a useful tool for narrowing the product range.
Product Pages
These are well laid out, with all product information hidden in dropdown lists to make the page compact and reduce load times.
It includes a huge amount of information, including the ingredients, nutritional values, storage and packaging information, country of origin and even a customer care phone number.
However the images should be larger, or at least allow you to click on them to view a bigger photo.
Adding items to the basket
The process of adding items to the basket is dreadful for non-registered customers. If you are on a product page and click ‘Add to basket’ you are linked to a page that asks you to sign in or register.
There is no link back to the product you were last viewing and if you click on the basket icon the product you tried to add in has disappeared.
Although the site doesn’t point this out, you first need to use the postcode tool to find out if you are eligible for online shopping. This should be made clearer.
If you are, you can then click ‘Continue Shopping’ and you are routed back to the product you were viewing and can then add it into your basket. This was a total inconvenience, and if I weren’t reviewing the site I would definitely have gone to shop elsewhere.
After I had added the chicken breasts to my basket and gone to the checkout, some small print notified me that the minimum order amount is £25...
This sort of information should really be shown up front on a mobile site to avoid annoying customers.
Checkout
Asda uses forced registration for its mobile checkout, which is a common cause of basket abandonment. Thankfully the amount of information required is fairly limited. It only needs your name, address, mobile number and email address.
It also uses a postcode lookup tool to make entering the postal address more convenient. The next screen asks you to select a delivery slot – it’s a relatively simple process, although once you have clicked the time you want you then have to scroll back up to the top of the screen to confirm it.
This is a small point, but most users will expect to have to scroll to the bottom of the screen to confirm.
On the following screen you need to enter your card details. Asda makes this process easier by assuming the billing address is the same as the delivery address, and it also offers to save your card details.
While I didn’t continue with my purchase, a progress bar at the top of the page shows that there are three more pages before the transaction is complete.
Conclusion
Asda’s mobile site is riddled with design flaws that could lead to a large number of abandoned purchases. While the overall look of the site is OK, at every stage of the purchase journey you are presented with barriers that slow the purchase down and frustrate the user.
It takes far too long to find the products you are looking for and add them to your basket. If Asda needs to know your postcode upfront then this should be made obvious to the consumer. Similarly it shouldn’t wait until the checkout process to inform customers of the £25 minimum spend.
Asda’s marketing blurb says its mobile site was created in partnership with Wal-Mart Labs, so presumably the design is based on a huge amount of user data.
But the overall process is frustrating and slow, and there are no signposts to make it easier for consumers to navigate.
Source: econsultancy.com
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