Aldi UK & Ireland CEO Giles Hurley has lashed out at industry “complacency” over Tesco claiming to ‘price match’ the discounter with products that fall short on ingredients.
After a Panorama investigation this week found dozens of ‘Aldi price-matched’ products at Tesco contained less of the main ingredient, Hurley said there was a risk that fragile consumer trust in supermarkets would be eroded.
Hurley spoke after The Grocer published comments from a supermarket source who played down the BBC investigation as “lightweight” on rigour and new information.
Responding in an opinion piece for The Grocer, Hurley said he “sincerely” hoped the views were “not shared widely across the sector”.
“If they are, then it suggests a complacency and disregard for the importance of giving customers clarity on what they are buying when using product comparisons to drive sales,” he said.
Claims last year that supermarkets were driving inflation through profiteering had “wiped out the reputational gains made when the sector was applauded for feeding the nation” in the pandemic, said Hurley.
“Shoppers were rightly asking if they were being taken for granted and questioning whether the rules of fair play were being followed. Could they trust their supermarket to keep prices as low as possible and not to take advantage of the situation?
“As inflation falls, thankfully trust is returning, but this week’s BBC Panorama investigation into price matching is a salutary warning that it shouldn’t be taken for granted.”
Aldi has also used the programme as a springboard in its campaign fightback against price matching by the traditional big four, with ads in a string of national newspapers calling out Tesco matches.
The investigation into deals promised by the traditional big four found that of 122 price-matched products at Tesco, 37 contained at least five percentage points less of the main ingredient than Aldi’s, and only 12 contained at least five percentage points more.
In several cases the disparity was greater. Tesco Hearty Food Co chicken nuggets contained 39% chicken while Aldi’s Rooster chicken nuggets contained 60%. Tesco cottage pie contained 18% beef compared with the 25% in Aldi Inspired Cuisine cottage pie.
The two examples were highlighted in ads placed with the Sun, Mirror and Daily Mail on Wednesday, while Hurley wrote directly to customers.
”The programme, which aired on BBC One, highlighted that nearly a third of Tesco’s matched products contain less of the main ingredient compared to Aldi’s,” he said.
“We’re aware that other retailers might claim to match our prices, but as this research shows, these claims are not always what they appear to be.”
Tesco has argued that a higher proportion of any one ingredient does not necessarily indicate better quality.
A spokesperson said: “We constantly review the quality of our products, and have clear processes in place to ensure that the hundreds of products that are included are comparable with those sold at Aldi.”
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