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Waitrose has signed a surprise deal with supermarket
rival Booths to pool their resources and share buying
duties on a range of products.
Booths, which enjoys a similarly upmarket reputation to
its larger partner, will co-operate with Waitrose on
sourcing a number of products in a bid to lower costs.
The move follows the decision by Booths in July to end
its buying alliance with wholesaler Nisa-Today?s.
Last month Booths waded into the 50p price war by
slashing the cost of selected fresh goods, emulating the
likes of Asda and Morrisons at its 26 stores in the
north of England.
?There are already many similarities between the
Waitrose and Booths brands in terms of our focus on food
quality, the provenance of our products and customer
service,? said Waitrose managing director Mark Price.
?This buying alliance will benefit customers of both
Waitrose and Booths for the long term by ensuring that
prices within both shops are highly competitive through
greater supply efficiencies.?
Booths chairman Edwin Booth added: ?Booths has a history
of having sourced an outstanding range of quality food
and drink for over 160 years. We are looking forward to
the alliance between Waitrose and Booths enabling us to
continue to trade strongly to the benefit of our
customers.?
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