the art of conversation

'This is Not Just M&S Food'

 

News this week that Marks & Spencer has shifted from its 50-year tradition of only selling own-label products to including 400 big name brands on its shelves. In a direct challenge to its closest rivals, such as Waitrose, M&S will sell famous brands like Kellogg's, Cadbury's and Jack Daniels for the same price as other supermarkets.

This move is a sign of the times - M&S has seen a decline in sales whilst other supermarkets have seen increases. It is also one of the 'next big things' M&S could expand into, in spite of the economic climate.

Will it also begin to reposition M&S more towards everyday food than just simply premium food, or will it harm perceptions of M&S's uniqueness and perceived premiumness?

At the same time, ironically, Waitrose has announced that it will be selling own-label products in Boots.

It seems like downturn has made even the most polite brands like Marks & Spencer bare its teeth, roll up its sleeves and slug it out.

All is fair in love and war. And retailing.

Simon 

Surfing Google's Wave

It has been in the pipeline for a while now and is creating extensive online buzz, despite a minimal commitment to a release date. It is, of course, Google Wave. The detail is fairly complex but the implications are huge.

If you are not fully aware of this new Wave, think of it as an online tool that allows multiple users to communicate together in real-time whilst exchanging video, image, text, audio and link-based (VITAL) information.Google Wave enthusiasts, who have been lucky enough to be invited to preview the application, have already crowd-sourced a Google Wave manual, (called the Complete Guide to Google Wave) using a Wiki open-source platform; Google themselves have released a 1 hour and 20 minute video(!) explaining how it works. Here is the 10-minute abridged version: