by Sarah Hills FoodBizDaily.com London
November 04 2009 - Retailer Marks & Spencer has announced that it will sell around 400 branded grocery and household products in all of its UK stores for the first time in its history, following a successful 16-month trial.
The big brands to enter M&S stores will include Coca-Cola, Marmite, Kelloggs and Heinz. All of the products have been price matched against the major supermarkets, putting M&S head-to-head with other grocers.
Sir Stuart Rose, M&S chairman, said that customers lead increasingly busy lives so buying must-have branded products at M&S will help save them time as they will not have to go elsewhere to buy them.
The range focuses on brand-dominated categories where M&S would typically have a low market share, such as soft drinks, confectionery and beer, or where M&S has no equivalent.
John Dixon, executive director of food, said: “My team and I are focused on delivering the best that M&S Food can offer – innovative products that provide unbeatable quality and great value.
“But there are some products that we could simply never compete with, like Marmite and Kit Kat, and other areas where, whilst we have a great M&S equivalent, the leading brand dominates the market.
“Adding the nation’s favourite brands to our mix offers our customers more choice and strengthens our position as the UK’s leading quality food retailer.”
The products will be rolled out to M&S stores starting this month with additional stores in the North East and South East of England, where the trials took place, then expanding into other regions from January 2010.
M&S said that each store will offer an edited selection of the range depending on its size.
The retailer said the branded products were specifically chosen with customer convenience in mind and to complement M&S’ existing own-label products. No M&S products will be de-listed or replaced.
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Marks and Spencer Group Plc
Address: Waterside House 35 North Wharf Road London, ENG W2 1NW United Kingdom
Telephone: +44-20-79354422
Fax: +44-20-74872679
About Marks and Spencer Group Plc
Marks and Spencer Group plc is a retailer of clothing, food and home products. The Company is the holding company of the Marks & Spencer group of companies. The Company has two geographic segments: United Kingdom and International. The International segment consists of the Marks & Spencer owned businesses in the Republic of Ireland, Europe and Asia, together with franchised operations. The Company is a provider of womenswear and lingerie in the United Kingdom. The brands in the womenswear include Classic, Portfolio, per una, Indigo, Autograph and Limited Collection. Its lingerie brands include Adored, Autograph, Body Solutions, Ceriso, Limited Collection and per una. On March 31, 2009, Marks and Spencer Reliance India Pvt Limited, a 51% subsidiary of the Company, completed the acquisition of 100% of Supreme Tradelinks Private Limited.