Waitrose has asked suppliers to reduce their prices as the supermarket looks to cut costs significantly.
Following relatively poor sales results, Waitrose has written to 1,000 of its suppliers to request a two per cent cut in its prices.
Mark Price, Waitrose's managing director, said that a fall in commodity prices meant that suppliers' raw material costs are cheaper and the supermarket saw this as an opportunity.
Requests have gone out to suppliers of branded food and farmers in primary agriculture in the UK and Price also said that suppliers are set to profit from Waitrose's growth, so should share the benefits.
The upmarket retailer revealed a mere 0.4 per cent rise in annual sales today as annual profits fell to £215 million.
In total, Waitrose has around 2,500 suppliers but a spokesperson told freshinfo they would not be requesting the cut from all of them: “We are asking only our larger suppliers who will have the opportunity to mutually benefit from our growth plans.
“We are working with them to achieve reductions through a combination of volume growth and supply chain efficiencies. As always, the Waitrose pricing model ensures a fair and sustainable return for our farmers and primary producers.”
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