LETTER: PnP may regret playing around with its brand

Fortunately for us SA consumers, we can shop in a very competitive market, ensuring we usually get a better deal on food than in Europe.

Generally, our shops are well maintained and a pleasure to use. Your writer gave Pick n Pay a rough ride in her piece (Pick n Pay picky on pay and pronunciation, July 25), largely about pay differentials at a time when they are reporting a trading loss. PnP has lost ground to its peers, who realised some time ago that increasingly affluent buyers, even if a minority, get choosy where they shop.

The breakdown in 2020 published by Labour Research Services gives the retail share of turnover as: Shoprite/Checkers 25%, Spar 20%, PnP and Massmart 14%, and Woolworths 12%. However, profit before tax shows a different picture: Shoprite 24%, Spar 12%, Woolworths 10%, PnP 8%.

A strong brand is the most important asset a business has, and I’m constantly surprised by managers who want to dicker around with it.

In PnP’s case, it’s a household name so where did this new animal QualiSave come from, and who dreams up these names anyway?

The strategy is clear. PnP is worried that it’s a bit too expensive for low-income earners (blacks) so let’s give them something they can feel more at home with. Wrong!

Keep your strong brand name, and achieve the sales objective by geographical and stocking differences. In other words, if PnP’s Soweto customers buy more maize meal than in Hyde Park, stock and price accordingly. PnP already operates 250 Boxer stores so what’s the problem? In today’s market, you play around with your brand at your peril.

Bernard Benson

Parklands

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