Waitrose and Boots play happy couples: The next generation of own label?
29th September
Diagram by otterpop58
Waitrose is apparently targeting the convenience market with a proposed 300 new stores, and is also going to have its products stocked by Boots (and vice versa). We can leave it to business analysts and others to comment on the financial implications of these developments. But from a design and branding standpoint, the move is really interesting.
What Waitrose might lack in scale with comparison to Tesco and others is more than made up for in brand saliency. I can’t imagine that too many folk would be thrilled to find an Asda or Morrison’s presence in their chemist, but through consistent behaviour (and values that don’t seem to be almost exclusively focussed on value) the Waitrose offer can be considered a real and desirable brand. Coherent and high design standards over the years have played their part in this. And Boots, with the success of such lines as the No7 Protect and Perfect serum, can also be seen as more than another “private label” concern. The two shops share enough in personality and gravitas for the marriage to feel natural and mutually beneficial.
The goal posts are shifting on the perceived brand value found in own label products, and while it might not make for a visually sexy case study, it’s possibly one of the more significant indications of the way that consumers view and define brands is evolving.
1 Comment
Paul May
September 29, 2009 11:23 am
Merchandising and offer strategy at Boots continue to be (forgive me) all over the shop, with the business polarised between high-performing small outlets in train stations/airports and the big old tumbleweed city centre stores. Getting Waitrose to upgrade the dead space in those big stores is a good idea. Waitrose is the Apple of grocery retailing: its fans forgive it anything, even its poor replenishment performance. Waitrose and Costa are now the most important middle-class anchors in UK towns, and the new small store format will be a big hit for Waitrose. Expect to see a bias towards ready meals and bakery.
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