As shoppers rush to stores to buy their souvenir blue-striped Value baked bean tins,the canning of Tesco’s Value range marks the end of an era stretching back almost two decades. It could also mark the start of a blitz of activity from the supermarket giant over the next few weeks.
With its end-of-year results out two weeks from today, all eyes will again be on the retailer as it seeks to end the 2011-12 on a high after a challenging first year and a bit for CEO Philip Clarke.
Redesigning an entire own-label range doesn’t happen overnight, so it would be wrong to imagine Tesco has rushed this strategy out for the benefit of shareholders. And anyway the redesign was long overdue, even if Value was in its day a pioneer.
Then again, how the way the launch is marketed will reveal much about how Tesco sees the way forward, as will the advertising that follows and the range’s in-store presence. Is the supermarket still focusing on price, as it has been during the Big Price Drop? Or is the strategy now focused on quality?
Recent indications are that Tesco feels its biggest failing has not been on price but the quality of its offering, from service to packaging and, in some cases, taste.
A full-on marketing blitz with this ethos at its heart may not have the same impact on pockets as the Price Drop, or indeed of the original thinking behind Value. But it will certainly make a change from yet more price wars - and give the opposition something different to think about..
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