Pick n Pay is taking on Woolworths with new premium house brand
Pick n Pay has launched a new premium range under its private label, targeting customers in its newly revamped middle to top-end stores.
The label – The Crafted Collection by PnP – will offer a “premium taste intertwined with affordability”, Pick n Pay said.
The retailer currently has two major private or house brand ranges – No Name, which targets lower-income households, and the PNP brand, which operates in the middle market. The group made a small push into the premium market with the Finest Pick n Pay brand, which launched in 2011.
The addition of the Crafted Collection will boost the group’s play in the premium market, dominated by Woolworths.
Pick n Pay first introduced its private label in 1976 with the No Name range as a way to offer customers incomparable value, at preferential prices. From just 14 No Name products, its private label now boasts over 4,800 products and has launched several ranges over the decades to suit its customers’ changing needs, aspirations and budgets.
The new Crafted Collection by PnP range currently has over 70 products in store, with a further 100 products expected by the end of the year. The range focuses on food and grocery items, but will soon extend to other categories, the retailer said.
Pick n Pay said its private label range accounts for 25% of its sales, up from 18% five years ago, adding that many customers are seeking value-for-money products and are increasingly choosing private label products.
Nicki Russell, head of product and technical at Pick n Pay, said that customers have been asking for a new affordable top-tier product range beyond the Finest private label range. “We’ve spent a lot of time understanding customers in this space, and have crafted this range to be sophisticated yet mainstream, at surprisingly good prices,” she said.
Russel said that the products in the new premium range target “gourmet” tastes with mainstream appeal and are 90% locally sourced or produced by local suppliers.
Pick n Pay chief executive officer Pieter Boone’s recently announced a new strategic plan – Ekuseni – which will see the group’s supermarkets organised into two customer-facing brands, each designed around specific customer needs.
The Crafted Collection will be stocked at Pick n Pay stores that aim to satisfy the needs of middle to top-end customers. The new range forms part of the 18,000 products the stores will stock, which has a strong focus on innovation.
The other brand, currently code-named “Project Red”, will carry fewer products – around 8,000 – and target the middle market and compete with the likes of Checkers more directly.
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