Waitrose commits £100m to slash prices if own brands

Upmarket British supermarket group Waitrose said it will spend £100 million to cut prices on over 300 own-brand products as it fights to retain customers amid record industry inflation.

Waitrose, part of the employee-owned John Lewis Partnership, said today (15) it was cutting the prices of products ranging from British carrots and frozen peas to Fairtrade tea and British sausages.

It said nearly a quarter of the reductions would be 20 per cent or more.

After a tough 2022, British consumers are facing an even tighter squeeze on their finances this year. Inflation is running at over 10.1 per cent, mortgage rates are rising and the government is cutting back support on household energy bills.

“We understand that getting value for money has never been more important for everyone," James Bailey, executive director for Waitrose said.

Products such as British roast ham will see a reduction of 33 per cent, with British cheddar, pork sausages, savoy cabbage, frozen peas, carrots, teabags, butter and tuna chunks also seeing price cuts, reports stated.

“This means our customers can enjoy greater value in every shop, and by lowering prices in our Essential range we’re making our lowest prices even lower.

“Although we’re cutting prices we won’t compromise our commitments to delivering excellent customer service, exceptional quality and the unique ranges we know our customers love; as well as our commitments to our farmers and suppliers which means customers can continue to feel good about shopping with us.”

Monthly industry data has consistently shown Waitrose losing market share and underperforming rivals including industry leader Tesco and No. 2 Sainsbury's, as well as German-owned discounters Aldi and Lidl. Last month researcher Kantar said Waitrose had a UK grocery market share of 4.7 per cent, down 0.4 percentage points year-on-year.

Kantar said British grocery inflation hit a record 16.7 per cent in January, with prices rising fastest for essential products such as milk, butter, cheese, eggs, dog food and toilet rolls.