Price war on the way - with chocolate as the winner

Great news for those of us whose Easter is never complete without overdoing the milk chocolate egg consumption….

Woolworths used to have the largest market share in the Easter Egg market. So they would have placed substantial orders with Nestle, Mars and Cadburys for their Easter 09 stock.

Back in the long-distant past, I was audit manager on the Nestle Rowntrees business in the UK and I remember fondly wandering around the production lines busy making Easter eggs.  The key, however, was that production took place in October and November, some 2-3 months ahead of when the retailers needed the stocks in store.

So the Easter egg manufacturers may have been sweating a little about what they would do with the surplus stocks after Woolworths collapsed.

Fear not.  According to this article in the Guardian, Tesco has seized the initiative and bought up any exclusive stocks made for Woolworths.  It plans to use them as part of an Easter egg price war in March 2009.

Not surprisingly, Asda has claimed that it wont be beaten on price.

Which is great news for budget-conscious consumers, as well as those of us who need at least three milk chocolate eggs on Easter Sunday to feel that we’ve really got into the spirit of the occasion.

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Marketing analysis: the UK supermarket battleground [3 May 2012]
Flaws in Tesco’s strategy [24 Apr 2012]
The Chief Operating Officer of Asda to Speak at the Business Teacher National Conference 2012 [18 Apr 2012]
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Tesco and Retrenchment [31 Aug 2011]
Tesco adapts to the South Korean market [8 Aug 2011]
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Tesco’s overseas strategy: next steps [10 May 2011]
Tesco -  The right strategy in the US? [23 Apr 2011]
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Leadership Resource - Every Little Helps [16 Mar 2011]
The Profit Margin Bloodbath of UK Recession [6 Mar 2011]
Britain is back in recession (well, consumers think we are) [23 Feb 2011]
Revision games - Marketing Basics (True / False) [16 Feb 2011]
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Q&A - Distinguish between price and cost [2 Jan 2011]
Q&A - Should a business use a “loss leader” as part of its pricing tactics? [31 Dec 2010]
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Effective staff training - a cracking example [13 Nov 2010]
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Online distribution channels - which retailers are still missing out? [1 Sep 2010]
Lost in translation - demand from public sector to dry up? [4 Aug 2010]
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Tesco’s insights into customer loyalty [12 Jul 2010]
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Silence is Golden for the Tesco Nuns [2 Jun 2010]
Strategy Case Study - Asda Nets Netto [28 May 2010]
The dangers of focus on one product [9 May 2010]
BUSS4 - Building exam skills [21 Apr 2010]
Taking Demand-based Pricing To Extremes [8 Feb 2010]
Video case study - substitute goods benefiting from the recession [1 Feb 2010]
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Revision Presentation - Revenues and Demand [30 Dec 2009]
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Q&A - When is it appropriate for a firm to use penetration pricing? [21 Dec 2009]
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Q&A - What is the difference between pricing strategies & tactics? [21 Dec 2009]
Q&A - Explain what is meant by price positioning [21 Dec 2009]
Q&A - What factors should a business consider when setting its prices? [19 Dec 2009]
Q&A - How does pricing link to the objectives of a business? [19 Dec 2009]
Q&A - What is price and why is it so important in the marketing mix? [19 Dec 2009]
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The Jenson Button Business Lesson [21 Oct 2009]
Video Case Study - The Supermarket Bullies? [20 Oct 2009]
Pricing strategies and tactics under investigation [15 Oct 2009]
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Providing What Customers Want? [16 Sep 2009]
Tesco in Korea - a classic case study in international expansion [6 Sep 2009]
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Sony cuts the PS3 price to extend its life cycle [30 Aug 2009]
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