Morrisons Sponsoring Clarkson’s Farm

Series four of Amazon Prime Video's popular show Clarkson’s Farm will debut next Friday (23rd), with Morrisons as its exclusive sponsor.

Each episode aired in the UK will feature one 10-second ident from the supermarket, which is the only pre-show advert and connects the brand to the series – “Clarkson’s Farm, brought to you by Morrisons”. A 30-second advert from Morrisons’ new advertising campaign will then open the first break.

The 10-second idents feature farmyard animals, including sheep and cows playfully mimicking in-store tannoy announcements. The humorous 30s adverts then continue to highlight Morrisons’ fresh, quality British-farmed food.

Created with Leo Burnett UK, they show customers sourcing their shopping in their natural, challenging conditions, such as out at sea or in a wet and muddy field.

The adverts then cut to the customers buying the produce in-store from Morrisons with ease.

The sponsorship deal aims to highlight Morrisons’ position as British farming’s biggest direct supermarket customer and the fresh produce available to its customers.

Alex Rogerson, Customer & Trade Planning Director at Morrisons, said: “From field to fork, acres to aisles and tractors to trolleys – this sponsorship is a celebration of the quality of great British-farmed food, the journey it takes and the farmers who make it possible.

Morrisons works directly with British farmers and growers all year round, and we pride ourselves on our great quality, fresh food as a result.”

Krishan Patel, Director, Agency UK & EMEA BD, Amazon Ads, added: “We’re delighted to welcome back Clarkson’s Farm on Prime Video with one of the UK’s major supermarkets, Morrisons, as the exclusive sponsor.

It’s a great example of how we are helping brands, like Morrisons, connect with millions of viewers and build brand loyalty alongside one of Prime Video’s biggest and most-loved shows.”

NamNews Implications:

• Morrisons demonstrating their role of doing the heavy lifting in terms of food sourcing, humorously…
• Should resonate with customers battling with the realities of the UK economy
• (i.e. a clear test of the risk in using humour in trying circumstances…
• ...but if/when it works, Morrisons’ courage will be rewarded)
• Hats off to them…
• BTW, a ‘buy British’ campaign that also implies that Morrisons will not be an easy opportunity for US beef…

Waitrose Latest Retailer To Reaffirm Commitment To British Farming Following Trade Deals

In the wake of the UK signing trade deals with the US and India, Waitrose has stated that it won’t compromise on animal welfare or its support for British farming.

Aldi made a similar pledge yesterday, whilst Tesco’s CEO said early this week that it has no plans to source American beef.

Waitrose head of agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries, Jake Pickering, said the retailer stands “shoulder to shoulder” with British farmers and will continue to champion high welfare and provenance across its supply chains.

“We want to reassure Waitrose customers that we will never compromise on our number one animal welfare standards or our long-standing commitment to British farming,” he said.

“All of our own-brand fresh beef, lamb, chicken, pork, eggs and fresh milk are sourced from British farmers to high welfare standards – and we have raised the bar for customers with the Better Chicken Commitment and introduction of our new welfare labelling.”

UK rules currently prohibit imports such as chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef, which are commonplace in some markets.

However, the British farming industry has raised concerns that current regulations could be watered down in future trade negotiations.

NamNews Implications:

• As Tesco, Aldi and now Waitrose plan to resist the appeal of US beef.
• The implications of this stance deserve special mention:
• ‘with little difference between the prices of British-produced beef and US beef that does meet UK standards’…
• …it is unlikely that US Beef will find a UK market.
• In which case, much depends on the UK government’s determination to resist any attempts to compromise quality standards, under US pressure.
• Watch this space…

Tesco Aiming To Get Market Share Back To 30% With Help Of Brands

Tesco has told suppliers that it wants to control 30% of the grocery market in the UK, a position it last held in 2012.

Latest data from Kantar shows that the market share of the UK’s leading supermarket chain currently stands at 27.8%, having made significant gains over the last year.

According to trade magazine The Grocer, the group’s Chief Commercial Officer, Ashwin Prasad, told delegates at the Tesco Business Update event hosted by IGD on Tuesday that it was focused on capitalising on its appeal to brands as the retailer most likely to bring about growth.

Declaring ‘To Grow Faster’ as the mission statement for Tesco, he told suppliers at the event that it could beat the offer of any of its rivals on value and quality, service and availability, and was the best vehicle for them to achieve gains.

Prasad added: “We want to grow with our suppliers and deliver against our priorities: ensuring we’re number one for value and quality; being their number one innovation partner; offering the best retail media platform; and delivering the best service and availability to our customers.

“We’re encouraging our suppliers to work with us and make us their primary partner to deliver growth.”

Speaking to The Grocer about the retailer’s strategy, Ged Futter, founder of The Retail Mind, said: “Tesco is confident it can return to a 30% share because it’s winning customers and knows what it’s doing is working.

“They don’t need to reinvent the wheel either. I think the main targets for Tesco’s share growth will be Asda and Morrisons. They are the easy targets because they’ve got more branded stuff.

“Aldi Price Match is all about own label, it isn’t about brands. That’s working, what they need to unlock is investment from the brands.”

NamNews Implications:

• ‘Focused on capitalising on its appeal to brands as the retailer most likely to bring about growth’
• i.e. likely to keep own label and brands at appropriate levels to optimise potential Retail Media revenues.
• Tesco priorities:
• Ensuring we’re number one for value and quality
• Being their number one innovation partner
• Offering the best retail media platform
• Delivering the best service and availability to our customers’
• i.e. Demonstrate how your brands fit with these priorities to optimise your brand opportunities.
• And as Ged Futter implies, your Tesco growth will be at the expense of Asda and Morrisons.
• BTW, worth keeping in mind that delegates at the IGD Tesco Business Update event had personal access to these insights two days ahead of non-delegates…?

Kirkland vs. Coca-Cola ... Is private label winning?

by Chace Binnie

At first glance, it looks Kirkland is winning, but I wanted to dig deeper into this.

Revenue is only one metric, so I thought: What if they are both winning at different games?

Where Kirkland is winning:

• They keep the product line simple
• Every product gets shelf space in Costco
• They don’t advertise... they let Costco’s reputation do the work
• It’s efficient to run, with strong margins and low overhead
• Shoppers trust it because it’s consistent, high quality, and good value

Why Coca-Cola is still doing well:

• You can buy it literally everywhere... restaurants, stores, stadiums
• The brand is iconic and instantly recognizable
• They dominate the beverage aisle with multiple popular products
• They’re constantly launching new flavors and formats to stay fresh
• Their marketing connects emotionally... it's more than a drink, it’s a feeling

So which one is winning? Again, it depends on how you look at it.

Jean-Marc François gave his take on CPG's current struggle against private label:
“They’re chasing growth through fragmentation,” Jean-Marc said.

“...in the process, they’re diluting their brand equity.”

Credit to Jean-Marc for this chart of the Top 10 global CPG brands.

Tesco’s CEO Says Retail Conditions Have Rarely Been As Tough; Not Planning To Stock US Beef

Tesco CEO Ken Murphy warns that retail trading conditions have “rarely been as tough” (rising costs, red tape, supply chain disruptions, a weak economy).

Speaking at the World Retail Congress in London this week, he pointed to mounting pressures from rising labour costs, as well as increased regulation in areas such as packaging.

The Labour Government has heaped billions of extra costs on retailers via increased National Insurance Contributions, an above-inflation hike in the minimum wage, and higher business rates i.e. warnings of shop closures, job losses.

Murphy: “Things have rarely been as tough for retail as they are today”, highlighting global supply chain disruptions ( via military conflict, trade wars, climate crisis).

Murphy warned: “There is geopolitical instability from the Ukraine to the Red Sea, which will continue to disrupt our supply chains and markets.”
Trump tariffs uncertainties risk upending existing supply chains.

He also highlighted that farmers in its UK supply chain are “under unprecedented strain”.

Meanwhile, days after the UK and US announced a limited trade deal, Murphy revealed that Tesco has no plans to source American beef.
The deal gave US farmers a quota of 13,000 metric tonnes for beef, which meets UK standards, with UK farmers having the same quota for sales into the US.

Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the World Retail Congress, Murphy said: “We source 100% Irish and British beef in Tesco and for the foreseeable future that policy will be the same, we’re not planning to change it.”

Last week, US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins hailed American beef as “the safest, the best quality and the crown jewel of American agriculture” and predicted the trade deal would “exponentially increase” US beef exports to Britain.

However, with little difference between the prices of British-produced beef and US beef that does meet UK standards, industry commentators have suggested that the US product could struggle to find retail buyers in the UK.

NamNews Implications:

• ‘Retail Conditions Have Rarely Been As Tough’ – agreed 100%+!
• “But when the going gets tough, the tough get going”, as we used to say (!)
• Real opportunities for those who act while rivals await evidence of a return to normal.
• Tesco have made clear their strategy in optimising real market conditions…
• …and in fact keeping up with Tesco will be a challenge for suppliers.
• Meanwhile, Tesco's US beef position is significant: (in our opinion)
• ‘with little difference between the prices of British-produced beef and US beef that does meet UK standards’…
• …it is unlikely that US Beef will find a UK market.
• In which case, much depends on the UK government’s determination to resist any attempts to compromise quality standards, under US pressure.
• Watch this space…

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Sainsbury’s Introduces New Anti-Theft Measure At Self-Service Checkouts

Sainsbury’s has started testing a new security feature on some of its self-service checkouts to combat shoplifting.

The system uses AI-driven video scanning technology to check whether items are scanned properly. When an item is placed in the bagging area without being scanned, the system immediately displays video footage of the incident.

Customers then receive a message saying: “Looks like that last item didn’t scan. Please check you scanned it correctly before continuing.”

Retail sources have described the measure as “a deterrent to shoplifters”.

A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said: “We regularly review the security measures in our stores and our decisions to implement them are based on a range of factors, including offering our customers a smooth checkout experience.”

NamNews Implications:

• Much depends on what % of customers are potential shoplifters…
• i.e. Sainsbury’s have obviously ‘done the sums’…
• …to balance deterrence vs ‘treating me with suspicion’.
• Think about a shopper’s succession of ‘didn’t scan’ warnings being seen by neighbouring checkers-out…

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Sainsbury’s Testing New Checkout-Free Tech

Sainsbury’s is trialling a new checkout-free system that lets customers pay for their shopping on its SmartShop handsets as part of moves to “reduce friction”.

According to trade publication The Grocer, the supermarket is testing the new payment-enabled devices in its stores in Richmond and Kempston. At the end of their shop, customers tap their card on the SmartShop handset to pay. They can print their receipt at a physical bay or ask for it to be emailed to them.

The SmartShop app, which can be downloaded onto phones, has had a payment function since 2022. However, Sainsbury’s director of future stores and customer experience, Darren Sinclair, told The Grocer that consumer research had found many shoppers preferred to use a physical handset to save their phone battery.

“It’s a bit more ergonomic,” he said. “I think about this as trying to reduce friction, improve payment and simplify the shopping journey, as well as the future potential space.”

Sinclair noted that there are advantages for Sainsbury’s to encourage more shoppers to use the SmartShop facility.

He said: “From a heatmapping perspective, we can see how people shop. We don’t see the physical customer, just see the heat, so we can see which ends are looked at, which screens are looked at and the flow around the store.

“That’s massively insightful when we are working out store formats, or when we are doing Nectar screens for suppliers.”

NamNews Implications:

• An extra little help for customers…
• …a major help for Sainsbury’s.
• And extra insights for suppliers…
• …all in terms of making every trip count.

Aldi Seeking Public Input To Find Sites For New Stores

Aldi is calling on the public to help identify the best locations for new stores in the UK.

Customers can submit suggestions for where the discounter should open new outlets, with the most popular areas being considered as part of Aldi’s expansion strategy.

The supermarket currently has more than 1,050 stores and has committed to a long-term goal of operating more than 1,500 sites across the UK.

In the coming months, Aldi will be bringing new stores to areas such as Ashford in Kent, Eastbourne in Sussex, and Caterham in Surrey, as part of its focus on expanding in the South East.

“We’ve always believed that great quality food should be within everyone’s reach and many communities would therefore still benefit from having an Aldi nearby,” said Jonathan Neale, Managing Director of National Real Estate at Aldi UK.

“We’re always looking at key places where we see potential, but we also want to hear directly from the public about where the demand is greatest. Their input is invaluable as we continue to grow and bring Aldi’s unbeatable value to more areas across Britain.”

The supermarket ran a similar initiative last year, which saw locations in London, Manchester, and Derbyshire recognised as priority locations amongst shoppers.

Progress has already been made to bring a new Aldi store to Chesterfield in Derbyshire, with the company recently securing planning for a site on Ringwood Road, Brimington.

To nominate a town or area for consideration, people have to email NextNewStore@aldi.co.uk and state the town they would like to put forward in the subject of the email.

Aldi is asking for submissions by 8th June, with plans to share the results and unveil the next round of priority locations later this year.

NamNews Implications:

• Aldi will obviously use scientific bases for site selection…
• …But public support will patently help in securing planning approvals.
• Besides, one never knows, local support may uncover potential sites missed by the science…
• Either way, Aldi appears to be determined to achieve their long-term goal of operating more than 1,500 sites across the UK.
• Watch this space…