Waitrose is reportedly considering cutting its product range by “about half” as part of a major strategy to reposition the supermarket as the “home of food lovers”.
The upmarket retailer currently carries more than 15,000 individual products, a broad selection that has long helped distinguish it from rival supermarkets.
Waitrose has built a reputation for offering specialist ingredients and hard-to-find items that are not always available elsewhere.
However, the chain is now expected to remove some of those products as it tackles duplication and aims to make shopping a simpler experience for customers.
At a presentation for food and drink suppliers earlier this year, the company reportedly revealed that 25 per cent of its products generated less than three per cent of total sales.
One supplier told The Times that the number of food brands stocked by Waitrose could be reduced by around half within the next few months.
Another supplier said the supermarket had made clear that it wanted “more volume going through fewer lines”.
A third supplier told the newspaper: “Waitrose historically had quite a lot of niche products because it wanted to offer something different from Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
Waitrose is reportedly considering cutting its range by “about half” as it seeks to become the “home of food lovers”
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“To attract more affluent customers, they offer lines that are more niche.
“But once you have built up a large number of niche suppliers that are not generating significant sales, rationalising the range does make sense.”
The reported plans come just months after Waitrose came last in a Which? test examining the shelf life of fresh food, finishing behind Asda, Tesco and M&S.
Which? used 12 mystery shoppers to place identical online orders with Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose over a two-week period.
Researchers then calculated the number of complete hours remaining between each delivery and midnight on the products’ use-by dates to determine the average shelf life offered by each supermarket.
Fresh food delivered by Waitrose had an average of just 7.7 days remaining before it needed to be used.
The premium supermarket recorded particularly weak results for products including scones, bread, fresh pasta sauce, fresh tagliatelle, hummus and pork sausages.
In one especially notable case, two packs of Waitrose beef mince and a pack of chicken thighs arrived with use-by dates just one day after delivery.
The findings may add urgency to an overhaul reportedly being led by Jason Tarry, chairman of Waitrose’s parent company, the John Lewis Partnership. The transformation could cost as much as £1billion.
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Tarry reportedly wants Waitrose to become known as the “home for food lovers”, with stores upgraded to feature bakeries, fresh-food stations and staffed counters.
The supermarket has also introduced new store formats, including smaller “neighbourhood” branches that are larger than convenience stores but more compact than its traditional outlets. Waitrose now operates more than 320 sites across the country.
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A company spokesman said: “We are growing sales and customer numbers and are confident there is headroom to build on this momentum by remaining absolutely focused on our strategy to be the home of food lovers.
“This means ensuring we offer exactly what our customers want: a distinctive range centred on the quality and values that set us apart, combining familiar brands with new and exciting products that our customers will love.”
As Waitrose prepares to reshape its business, rival Marks & Spencer has enjoyed a strong return to growth this year.
M&S Food Director of Product Development Kathryn Turner is pictured as the supermarket reports a significant sales recovery
The retailer posted pre-tax profits of £355million in the six months to September, £3million higher than in the same period a year earlier
The retailer reported pre-tax profits of £355million for the six months to September, an increase of £3million compared with the same period last year.
M&S is understood to have relied on the continued expansion of its food business to support its recovery after a cyberattack last year took its website offline and left stores with empty shelves. Reports have estimated that the incident cost the company more than £100million in profits.
The retailer has also intensified its efforts to attract younger shoppers. Kathryn Turner, its director of product development, has become an unlikely social media sensation.
Her TikTok videos have been viewed more than 50million times, and M&S is understood to credit the clips with helping boost sales of products including mango grapes and its unconventional strawberries-and-cream “sando”.
The company actively encourages employees to share their experiences of working for M&S on personal social media accounts, a strategy that gained traction during the coronavirus pandemic.
M&S chief executive Stuart Machin said: “Our hard work over the last few years to create a strong balance sheet has built a firm financial footing from which to invest, and we are confident about the opportunities ahead.
“Despite the continued cost pressures, we have remained focused on our ambitions and are clear about our plan.”
M&S Food is now attracting 1.5million more customers than it did a year ago.
Executives are reportedly aiming to establish M&S as a “shopping-list retailer” by persuading British families to switch from rival supermarkets.
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