By Patrick Avenell
Leading British supermarket chain Waitrose is making tentative plans to enter the Australian market, at least in some capacity, as revealed by ™Watch editor and Current.com.au contributor Tim Lince.
“High-end UK supermarket brand Waitrose has had its Australian trade mark application accepted, and officially entered the trade mark register last week,” wrote Lince at ™Watch (click on link to view trademark).
“The supermarket company, which operates nearly 300 stores in the UK and also owns department store John Lewis, stated in 2011 it planned to enter the Australian market through franchising partnerships. The successful trade mark application could mean that goes ahead sooner rather than later.”
Waitrose is arguably best known is Australia as the major sponsor of the Reading Football Club, home to Australian goalkeeper Adam Federici.
™Watch quoted a Waitrose spokesperson as saying, “we see the Australian market as a growth opportunity for the Waitrose brand”.
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Although potential Waitrose-branded supermarkets in Australia would only carry a narrow appliance range, similar to what one might find in a Woolworths or Coles, the real competition for the appliance industry would come from John Lewis.
Waitrose and John Lewis are both owned by the same employee-owned private partnership, called the John Lewis Partnership. Should Waitrose establish a successful beachhead in Australia, there would be a strong temptation to launch the John Lewis department store concept, at least in Sydney and Melbourne.
Broadly similar to Myer and David Jones, John Lewis is known for having excellent customer service, a full-service website reflecting a mature approach to online trading and brilliant marketing campaigns.
John Lewis’ Christmas advertisements have become a cultural fixture in the United Kingdom — its 2012 effort set to the music of The Smiths went viral as has been viewed by more than 5 million people.