A public debate between English Apples & Pears and Asda over the promotion of English apples at the UK’s number two multiple retailer continued at the National Fruit Show, in Kent, on Wednesday.
The confrontation began on live national TV last Thursday, when EAP chief executive Adrian Barlow openly criticised Asda for the disparity between what it claimed was head office policy and the reality in its store network. He pointed out that on a visit to Asda’s Canterbury store prior to the BBC Breakfast show, the claims of the retailer to be supporting English fruit actively were not backed up, even in the industry’s heartland.
Asda’s UK sourcing director Chris Brown said that its policy is to source 70 per cent of apples domestically, during the English season.
But Barlow’s sorry Canterbury tale was that English fruit took up 13 of 43 apple facings and only three varieties were on display. Brown’s on-screen response was to toe the hq party-line. “This is typical of the kind of reaction that you hear from head office, which bears no relation to what is happening on the ground,” Barlow said.
He again spoke of his shock and disappointment at Asda’s broken promises when quizzed at the NFS. He said: “It is disappointing when commitments are made at head office level but not borne out in stores. I sincerely hope that what I said has got back to Andy Bond [Asda ceo]. I hope more people will take note.” He told FPJ he hopes his comments provoke a response from Asda.
Tesco buyer Martin de la Fuente said the retail industry needs to ensure that the quality of fruit on-shelf is paramount. “There are one or two retailers who have had immature products on the shelves to get a head start on PR,” he claimed, adding that the key to selling English apples successfully is to “create a buzz around the product” and “to get staff excited”.
Barlow commended the majority of UK multiples for their promotional efforts around the home-grown crop, and singled out the market leader. “Last year, Tesco sold 45 per cent of the total English Gala crop, which was a record crop. This year, Tesco has done a great job to date. It started planning for the English apple season from early spring and made certain that stores would actually stock English apples. Its sales are much better than they were this time last year.
“Tesco represents one third of UK grocery sales and if we don’t do a good job with them, then we won’t have a good year,” he said.
Barlow also commended Sainsbury’s, which he said has again over-traded on English apples, M&S and Waitrose. He added that Morrisons, which has also come in for criticism in the past for its English apple strategy, is “trying hard”. EAP is working more closely than ever with the multiple retailers this season, to ensure that returns to growers are sufficient, he said.
• Canterbury update: Despite the public admonishment, on Thursday evening, just nine of 37 facings in the Asda apple section at its Canterbury store were English and there was no Cox on display at all.
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