Waitrose has thanked rival chain Marks and Spencer for helping it lift sales of its Essential value range.
The upmarket chain claims M&S’s advertising campaign, which compares prices at the two retailers, helped increase sales of Essential products by 17 per cent by value and 24 per cent by volume over the week to November 7, compared with equivalent products on sale last year.
The M&S advert shows a number of products including teabags, sausages and orange juice, and states that the company either matches or beats the Waitrose Essential item on price.
It says: “Every week we check our Wise Buys products against the equivalent products from the Waitrose Essentials range, so you can be sure you’re getting M&S quality at great value for money.”
Richard Hodgson, commercial director at Waitrose, said: “The Essential range has been hugely successful since its launch earlier this year but last week’s performance was particularly sparkling.”
“Maybe we should be thanking the M&S marketing department for highlighting both the quality and value of our essential Waitrose range in its high-profile advertising campaign.”
Waitrose said total group sales for the first week of November were up 17.1 per cent year-on-year to £90.4 million – the supermarkets best weekly sales results since 2006.
