Tesco has taken a cheeky swipe at rival Sainsbury’s by announcing it will accept the supermarket’s defunct Brand Match coupons in its stores.
It said the promotion, which kicks off today (11 April) and lasts until June, would give consumers a chance to use its own Brand Guarantee scheme, which sources at Tesco believe helped kill off Brand Match.
The move comes with Tesco seemingly confident, ahead of its crucial first quarter sales announcement on Wednesday. Tesco is predicted by analysts to return to profit following last year’s huge UK losses.
The decision comes after its rival announced last week that it would end the once-pioneering Brand Match scheme and would no longer offer customers any guarantee around the prices it charges.
Tesco launched its own brand-matching scheme in October last year.
“This is a little help for Sainsbury’s customers from us at Tesco,” said Matt Davies, Tesco UK and ROI CEO. ”It also provides the opportunity for Sainsbury’s customers to experience Tesco’s Brand Guarantee, which we launched in October, and has been universally welcomed by our customers.”
Some had speculated that Sainsbury’s exit from Brand Match could see all the major supermarkets follow suit as the onus falls on everyday pricing strategies.
But in an exclusive interview with The Grocer last week, chief product officer Jason Tarry said Brand Guarantee was a “key part of our overall value proposition, and welcomed by and reassuring to our customers.”
Tesco said Brand Match coupons would be accepted at Tesco Extra, superstores and Metro stores, and some products would be excluded, including general merchandise, fuel, and tobacco.
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