Tesco has slashed the cost of its standard women’s razors to match that of men’s, in what has been greeted as a victory against gender discrimination in supermarket pricing.
A newspaper investigation last year showed women were paying an average of 37% more for gender-targeted items, ranging from toys to beauty products, with razors among those in the firing line.
Tesco had been charging £1 for a pack of five women’s twin-blade razors, twice the price of the men’s equivalent.
Its announcement came in a letter to Labour backbencher Paula Sherriff, who has been campaigning for such a move.
In the letter, Tesco commercial director for packaged products Kari Daniels said the supermarket had reviewed its products to make sure it was not guilty of gender-differentiated pricing following a parliamentary debate.
Daniels said the disparity in price was not the result of gender bias, adding: “In the instance of our twin-blade razors, the difference is driven by the fact that male razors are produced and sold in significantly higher volumes, which reduces the price we pay for them.
“However, following an internal review and discussions with our suppliers, we have acted on concerns about the difference in price of our female and male disposable twin-blade razors, in line with our commitment to ensure consistently low, simple and affordable pricing.
“We have aligned the prices of these products so that the male and female razors are the same price per unit. We have done this by reducing the cost of the women’s razors and keeping the cost of the men’s razors the same.”
Daniels also said Tesco had changed its pricing strategy so it was “moving away from large, short-term promotions to focus on prices that are consistently low and affordable, and simpler to understand”.
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