Waitrose is to invest £10m to cut the price of 250 products, in its latest round of price cuts.
The high-end grocer has focused on its premium own-label lines as part of the “first phase” of the two-stage price drop, and has slashed the cost of 130 products from its newly relaunched No1 and Duchy Organic lines.
The remainder of the price cuts will go live “towards the end of the year”.
Included in the first wave are a Waitrose No1 White Sourdough Loaf, which will fall by 9.1% overall to £2. A 1.5kg bag of Waitrose Duchy Organic wholemeal plain flour will drop in price by 20p, to £2.20.
Other products announced by Waitrose are No1 Free Range Pork Square Ribs, which will fall by 10% on average, to £9 per kg. Waitrose No1 Vintage Cornish Cheddar will fall by 10.4% to £3 for 200g, while Waitrose Duchy Organic basmati rice will fall from £3.40 to £3 per 500g, a saving of 11.8%.
The majority of the first wave of cuts – 80 products – are focused on Waitrose’s N.1 range, which relaunched in June while 45 are Duchy Organic products.
It marks the sixth time Waitrose has cut prices over the past 18 months, taking its total investment to £140m. It covers some 1,400 products, 7% of its total range, the supermarket said.
“Our food-loving customers come to Waitrose to experience the very best, from exceptional flavours to the quality of the ingredients we offer,” said Waitrose commercial director Charlotte Di Cello.
“This latest investment in prices will include a large number of products across No1 and our organic Duchy ranges, which we know our customers love.
“With many celebrating Organic Month this September, there’s no better time to try our organic Duchy food and drink.”
Waitrose is in buoyant mood after half-year results last week revealed its tenth consecutive quarter of growth. Sales were up 5% to £3.9m, with volumes also up 2% during the 26 weeks to 27 July.
It reflected what was an improvement across the John Lewis Partnership in general, leading CEO Nish Kankiwala to declare the “buzz is back” at the partnership ahead of new chairman Jason Tarry starting on 16 September.
The results, and price cuts, come as Waitrose prepares to kick off one of its “biggest periods of expansion” for recent years, with plans to open 100 new Little Waitrose convenience stores by 2030.
The first new site at Hampton Hill in London is subject to planning approval, but is pencilled in to open before the new year
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