Tesco has stepped up its support for English apples this month but Asda is lagging far behind.
According to Adrian Barlow of English Apples & Pears, Sainsbury’s set a high standard by demonstrating strong support for UK apples from the start of the season. It was initially responsible for 50 per cent of total English Cox sales, but in the last four to five weeks Tesco has seen a sharp incline in sales.
“Tesco is now selling more Cox than anyone else and it is the leading retailer for English Gala. Its performance recently has been quite outstanding. It is selling more than twice as much as anyone else,” Barlow said.
These results demonstrate Tesco’s stated desire to support the UK industry and provide its consumers with English apples because they recognise their excellent eating quality, he claimed.
This season Tesco has expanded the number of stores selling English Cox by introducing them into a significant number of Tesco Extra stores.
Barlow said while Tesco’s dominance is to be expected, some of the smaller retailers, such as Waitrose, Somerfield, the Co-op and Marks & Spencer also deserved recognition for their relatively strong sales.
Meanwhile, Asda’s performance was deeply disappointing, he claimed. “I have no doubt that performance is related to shelf space and, in the case of Asda, the sales aren’t being achieved because there isn’t sufficient shelf space given to English apples and consumers are struggling to find them in-store.”
He suggested Asda follow Sainsbury’s example in making sure individual stores observed the display orders set out by head office.
By the start of November total sales of English apples were 21 per cent up on last year and Barlow is hopeful that this year’s bumper crop will help raise demand for the product.
