Retail Memo: Morrisons Beats Asda in UK Holiday Market Basket Price Survey... Not Just By A Nose But Also By A 'Mama Mia' DVD

What do whole turkeys, Ocean Spray cranberry juice, After Eight Mints, Aunt Bessie's yorkshire puddings, Ferraro Rocher chocolates, the "Mama Mia DVD and 27 other Christmas holiday-oriented items have in common in the United Kingdom?

Give up?

All 33 items, which also include Hardys Stamp Shiraz-Cabernet, Sauvignon wine, crackers, all the trimmings for the whole turkey and more, were included in a 33 item holiday festival market basket price comparison conducted this week by the United Kingdom trade publication The Grocer.

The British food and grocery industry trade publication compared the retail prices of 33 traditional (we're not sure how the "Mama Mia" DVD got in there though. But more on that later) British yuletide celebration treats at stores run by the UK's leading supermarket chains -- Tesco, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.-owned Asda, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Waitrose. In terms of market share, Tesco is the number one chain in the UK, followed by number two Asda, number three Sainsbury's and Morrisons, at number four. Waitrose is about number six or seven, after the Co-op (number five) and about tied with Marks & Spencer, but is considered the country's leading upscale supermarket chain.

The results

Morrisons came in first place in the holiday food, grocery, drink and gift item market basket (or trolley as it's often called in the UK) price comparison.

The supermarket chain is currently selling the 33 typical yuletide treats, including turkey and all the trimmings, crackers, alcohol and gifts, for just £112.06 (pounds).

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc-owned Asda came in a close second place, selling the 33-item holiday trolley basket of goods for £113.32, only £1.26 higher than Morrisons.

Tesco, the UK's top supermarket chain, came in third Its 33-item holiday goody basket costing £117.76.

Purchasing the 33 holiday items at Sainsbury's costs considerably more, £124.85, putting the chain in fourth place, while upscale supermarket chain Waitrose placed last in the 33-item holiday food, grocery, alcohol and gift market basket price survey, with a total cost of £141, which not only is substantially higher (£28.94 more) than winner Morrisons, but also is even much higher than second-to-last place Sainsbury's.

The competition was fierce between Morrisons and Asda.

According to The Grocer, Morrisons has 13 of the lowest priced holiday items on the list, including several chocolate, gift and alcohol items, such as Ferrero Rocher chocolates, Hardys Stamp Shiraz-Cabernet, Sauvignon and the whole turkey.

However, the survey found that Asda fell to second place despite providing 16 of the cheapest or same priced as Morrisons' items - the most of all the retailers. Among these 16 items included After Eight Mints, Aunt Bessie’s Yorkshire puddings and Ocean Spray cranberry juice.

How could this be?

The 'Mama Mia!' effect

It appears Asda's loss fell on on single item -- the "Mama Mia" DVD. The DVD, which we are only now learning is a popular Christmas holiday item in the UK, sells for £2.66 less at Morrisons than at Asda. Therefore, were the DVD not included in the 33-item holiday trolley basket price comparison, Asda would have been the first-place winner over Morrisons.

Non-Abba and "Mama Mia" fans can take this to heart: If you want to purchase only 32 of the 33 items in the price comparison, then Asda is the place to go, as less the DVD consumers can save a few pence getting the other 32 items -- mostly food and drink -- at Asda.

The rumor is, upon reading the results of the holiday market basket survey, in which the only item standing in the way of a first place win for Asda was the Mama Mia DVD, the chain's (fictitious) director of holiday pricing was heard to shout -- "Mama Mia"...and he isn't even Italian. We wouldn't blame Asda if it cried "fowl."

Asda took first place in last year's holiday market basket survey conducted by The Grocer, followed by Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Waitrose.

There was no word if the "Mama Mia" DVD was included in the 33-item holiday price comparison last year.

Recessionary food and grocery retailing

The UK food and grocery retailing industry is currently going through a super-competitive period due to the serious recession in the country.

Consumers are flocking to discounters like the German-owned small-format, hard-discount chains Aldi and Lidl. Asda and Morrisons which both operate on a moderate-discount model are holding their owne respectively, and even gaining some market share at the expense mostly of Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose.

Tesco, which has lost some share this year, and is by far the leading supermarket chain in the UK, has recently been fighting back by offering more discounted items in its stores, as well as introducing a new lower-everyday-priced store brand line a few months ago.

Waitrose, the UK's leading upmarket specialty supermarket chain, is hurting probably the most since even upper income British consumers are feeling the pinch from the recession and financial crisis.

Marks & Spencer, which like Waitrose is an upscale food and grocery retailer, and wasn't included in the holiday market basket price survey, also is hurting since its main customer base, which is essentially the same as Waitrose's, also is seeking out discount supermarkets and spending less money on more expensive specialty and premium products at the upmarket chain.

Retail Memo: Waitrose's 'Chubby Grocer' Mark Price 'Weighs-In' on His Rival; Marks & Spencer CEO and 'The King of Pants' Sir Stuart Rose

Let's face a cold, hard fact: When it comes to comparing grocery retailing in the United States and the United Kingdom, on thing is perfectly clear: The Brits just have a whole lot more fun with the business than their American counterparts, especially at the CEO or Managing Director level.

Sure, there are the occasional bursts of wonderment and mirth among U.S. grocery retailing CEO's, like the news last year that Whole Foods' chief John Mackey had been posting anti-Wild Oats Markets and pro-Whole Foods acquisition comments on various online financial bulletin boards during the run up to the Austin, Texas-based grocer's buyout of natural foods chain Wild Oats. The incident was good for lots of press--and some fun headlines such as "Wacky Mackey." We can't recall one U.S. supermarket chain CEO commenting on it though, although others from all walks of life did.

In the main though, U.S. retail grocery chain CEO's are pretty staid folks, no disrespect intended. Further, the retail grocery industry in the U.S. has very little prestige for some reason among the corporate and business community, as well as with the American news media.

On the other hand, the UK press has elevated its reporting and writing about that nation's grocery retailing industry to a high art form. The country's newspapers, tabloids and other media outlets report on the UK's top grocery chains daily. And, it's not just business stories these scribes write about either. UK Retail grocery industry CEO's often are covered and written about at near-celebrity levels. The good, the bad and the ugly are reported regarding the supermarket chains and their leaders.

For example, there's Sir Terry (Leahy) of Tesco, who appears in the British press more often than rock star Paul McCartney (pre-divorce of course). There's reports on the comings and goings of Wal-Mart, which owns the UK's number two retail chain, Asda, at least daily. Further, there's what we call the "Daily Sainsbury's," news all about the UK's third-largest grocery retailer. And, that's just the tip of the UK grocery industry and CEO media coverage iceberg.

Britain also holds its supermarket CEO's in rather high esteem. As such it gives them major props when they are up--and feels free to kick them when they are down.

United Kingdom CEO's or Managing Directors are a royal bunch as well. Sir Terry of Tesco has been knighted (hence the Sir in Terry), as has Stuart Rose, CEO of Marks & Spencer. Add to that list Sir Morrison, the just-retired CEO of the grocery chain Morrisons', which is the fourth-largest in the UK. There's even a Lord in the group, Lord Sainsbury.

Then there's Mark Price, the Managing Director (essentially the same as CEO) of upscale grocery chain Waitrose. Price, who calls himself the "chubby" and "jolly" grocer in honor of his slight girth, which he's in the process of reducing--an effort he chronicles daily in his blog by reporting what he ate for lunch and dinner the day before and breakfast that morning--daily in his own blog on the Waitrose corporate website.

Price may not have achieved "Sir" status yet like the others, but he is without peer in UK grocery retailing executive circles in terms of having fun with and loving his job as the head of Waitrose. Price also is the only supermarket CEO in the UK to write his own daily blog--and in the words of many readers tell them way too much about his personal eating habits.

We love Price's blog--and read it often. Another thing the "jolly grocer" uses his blog for is to have some fun with his UK retail grocery chain CEO peers. He especially likes to dig (slight, British digs mind you) Sir Terry Leahy of Tesco over this issue or that when the mood--and the issue--strikes him. The blog's digs on Sir Terry are all in jest mind you--but they do often have some larger meaning behind them as well.

Right now Waitrose (and its parent John Lewis) and Tesco are a bit at odds with each other competitively speaking. Waitrose, which also owns the online UK grocery-retailer and home delivery service Ocado, recently announced it would beat Tesco's retail prices on a couple thousand basic, everyday grocery items at the online supermarket. On its website, Ocado has a banner promotional ad which reads: 'Tesco Prices, Waitrose Quality, Ocado Delivery.'

Tesco shot back--and the battle has been enjoined--with some harsh words by both retailers and talks of lawsuits by Tesco. As a result, we expect the "chubby grocer" to either lay off writing about Sir Terry and Tesco for a while on the advice of legal council, or to do the complete opposite, and perhaps sharpen the nature of his digs just slightly.

But, it's Price's latest friendly dig at his friend and collegue Sir Richard Rose, CEO (and now Chairman as well) of Marks & Spencer, we want you to know about today.

First, a little background: Unlike is the case in the U.S., the top-three UK supermarket chains--Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's-- and a number of others near the top like Marks & Spencer, sell soft goods like clothes and hard goods like electronics and appliances, in most of their stores in addition to food and grocery products. (Waitrose stores just sell food and groceries in the main, including the best of the best in terms of quality, but it's parent company, John Lewis, operates department stores.)

Additionally, all four of these retailers sell men's and woman's clothing as part of their soft goods' merchandising, including producing and selling pants, shorts and other garments under their own store brands. The retailers' are as competitive in the soft goods category in many ways as they are in the food and grocery category.

There are even awards for the best store brand clothing, as there are in the UK for best store brand grocery products. And, Mark's & Spencer was just recently named this year's best purveyor of own-brand pants out of all the UK soft goods (and those that sell groceries as well) retailers.

Lastly, Marks & Spencer CEO Sir Stuart Rose recently became the Chairman of M&S as well as its CEO. He also signed a new 10-year contract as Chairman and CEO of the popular UK retail chain.

Back to Waitrose Managing Director/blogger Price. Last week the "jolly grocer" used his blog to write about--and offer a gentle dig to--M&S CEO Rose. Price and Sir Stuart had dinner together last week at a male only event called the Solus Club, which was held in London's posh Dorchester Hotel.

Price used the occasion of being with Rose at the dinner, following the Chairman and CEO's inking his new 10-year contract, as well as Marks & Spencer's getting its "best pants' retailer nod," to try out some new nicknames or "official titles" on Rose, whom he calls "The King of Pants," (among other titles) in honor of the "best pants retailer" honor.

Among the "official titles" Price says in his blog he offered to Chairman and CEO Rose (which Sir Stuart confirms) were: El Presidente, Grand Formage, Defender of the Universe, the Silver Foxy Overlord of the High Street and--as a nod to the combined Chairman and CEO roles rolled in with the "best pants" honor--First Lord of the Knicker Drawer.

Price also can't resist commenting on Rose's dual positions at M&S in his blog, saying he (Rose)agreed on the new, 10-year contract between himself (the Chairman) and himself (the CEO). [Read the "chubby grocer's" post about his dinner with Rose here.]

Rose seems to be taking it all in stride. He says he takes all of Price's comments, in the blog and verbally, "in the spirit in which they are intended." That's a very Chairman-like comment, we must say.

Meanwhile, today is a big day for Price, the "chubby grocer." Today, Easter Sunday, is the day for his big weigh-in to see if his efforts over the last three months to lose weight will give him the new nickname, the "not-so chubby" grocer.

Price is spending the Easter weekend on holiday with his family. He did make a blog post today but there was nothing about the weigh-in because it was an early morning pre-weigh-in post. But the signs look ominous as evidenced by this mornings post.. In that post, Price mentions a huge breakfast he just finished at his hotel restaurant in Breton, where he is on holiday. The morning meal sounds huge.

We bet he waited until tonight for the weigh-in so he could digest that breakfast spread a bit. But, what about Easter lunch...and dinner? The calories, the carbs of it all. We will be checking the "chubby grocer's" blog first thing in the morning for a new, post weigh-in post...and the results. We won't be disappointed though if Price has only lost a couple pounds. After all, we kind of like his "chubby grocer" persona.