Sam vs Tesco : round 1
The consumer crusader leaps into action for a second day in a row to take on the behemoth of supermarkets, Tesco. What, I hear you ask, have the giants of retail done to vex our hero? Read on and find out…
Dear Tesco,
As someone who walks through the centre of Liverpool on my way to and from work on a daily basis, I often find myself passing your Express store on Lord Street but rarely do I shop there.
Given your undisputed brand leadership in the realm of supermarketry in the United Kingdom you may wonder why it is I choose to walk past your store and onto the Sainsbury on Castle Street and I’ll give you that piece of information, my reason for writing, momentarily. I first want to make it clear that I have no particular brand loyalty with regards to supermarkets, and really don’t care for the endless price comparing name calling indulged in by yourselves and ASDA, my singular concern is that you chaps stock what I need, when I need it.
This is not a complaint about the range of products in your Express stores, I fully understand that they’re positioned to be the in-town store for busy people on the go, and not the place to carry out the mythical “big shop” for the week.
My complaint, query, call it what you will refers to your stocking of Marlboro brand cigarettes. Don’t fret, I’m not about to issue some crazed threats regarding the links between smoking and death (apparently, everyone who smokes dies at some point), rather I am concerned that the team who decide which cigarettes and in what quantity your stock don’t have much of a clue. Specifically, you stock three varieties of Marlboro brand cigarettes currently : red (“Marlboro”), gold (“Marlboro light”) and black (“Marlboro bright leaf”), occasionally also stocking red/white (“Marlboro medium”) and silver (“Marlboro really-light”).
Your basic stock of these cigarettes is 3 rows of 20 Marlboro bright leaf, 3 rows of 10 Marlboro light, 8+ rows of 20 Marlboro light and 2 rows of 10 Marlboro.
Here it comes, the stage is now set, enough beating about the bush, my actual query… why do you only stock Marlboro in 10s? These are the strongest cigarette in the Marlboro family and as such tend to be smoked by people who are unafraid to stand up and say “I smoke a lot, if there were such a thing as a professional smoker, I’d be one” at any given moment. These are the devil-may-care folk who don’t care about how much tar/nicotine/arsenic a cigarette has or how much it costs providing it tastes good. These are not the same audience who smoke the student/woman cigarette of choice Marlboro light, who are equally inclined to buy a pack of 10 because it fits into their handbag as they are a pack of 20 because it’ll last longer.
Obviously I get that you shift a whole bunch more Marlboro lights than you do real, old-school, man Marlboro (as smoked by the Marlboro Man) but what is it makes you think that we folk who smoke these bad boys are ever going to buy a pack of 10 through choice except when we’re too ill-equipped financially to buy a pack of 20? Your sales figures may suggest that the 10s have been selling just fine, but I’ll explain why that is – every Marlboro smoker comes in, says “20 *cough* Marlboro *hack wheeze* please” to which your skilled and polite customer service representative replies “I’m afraid we only have 10s” to which the only response is “I’ll take two 10s then please”. Your customers want this product in 20s, not 10s.
This is not a complaint about the additional cost involved in buying two packs of 10, it’s a complaint because the stock situation is near-sighted. Smokers of lighter tar cigarettes are mentally telling themselves that they’re quitting in some small fashion, therefore let them have more 10s available, we committed, happy smokers would like to buy 20s please.
I single out the Lord Street, Liverpool store as it is local to me, however I anticipate that your stock choice is made across the country, so while I haven’t researched this endlessly I figure it’s probably the same everywhere.
I look forward to your response.
Sam
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