British retailers grab spotlight on world stage

Britain’s supermarkets are riding high in a global champions’ league of retailing giants being rated more highly by shoppers across a range of benchmarks than any of their international peers. In an international survey of retailers compiled by strategy consultants OC&C, consumers were asked to rate retailers according to a wide range of criteria, including value, quality and how pleasant the stores are.

Five British retailers make the worldwide top ten in the Proposition Index. Notable winners include Asda and Waitrose, which cater for opposite ends of the grocery market but nonetheless emerge almost arm-in-arm as the highest-rated supermarkets. Tesco languishes as the least-favoured of the Big Four, despite its market-leading position.

According to Tom Gladstone, the analyst who led the UK research, Tesco was in part a victim of its own ubiquity. "British people love to kick the big guy," he said. "Tesco is also a good all-rounder - compared with Asda, which has a clear messaging around pricing, and Waitrose, which has strong messaging around quality."

The variation between categories is huge. While health and beauty retailers, notably Boots, are rated 5.8% higher than their counterparts in five other markets, DIY retailers are under par. Primark's strong pricing underpins its rating by customers as the third-best clothing retailer, despite low scores for quality, service and the state of its stores. Marks & Spencer, Britain's biggest retailer of clothing, is rated highest despite being given the worst score on prices. In DIY, B&Q wins plaudits in everything from low prices to product quality.

The clear overall winner is Amazon, the US-based internet retailer that uniquely claims top honours as the best of British, American and German.

Source : NAM News