UK-based retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) is allocating more than £4m ($5.4m) to reduce prices on over 50 lines in its organic food range.
The reductions apply to products such as organic carrots, lamb, pasta and potatoes, which are being added to the retailer’s Remarkable Value range, a tier M&S says is “benchmarked to competitor prices”.
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The company said the initiative is designed to “double its share of the organic market by making products more affordable and accessible without compromising on quality”.
The retailer is also installing multi-temperature zones for organic food in its larger, newer Foodhalls.
The latest reductions form part of M&S’s wider value strategy and its effort to become what it describes as a “true shopping list retailer” while seeking to double the size of its Food business.
M&S has so far invested more than £30m this year in lowering prices on everyday weekly shop staples, as well as broadening its food offer.
Recent developments include last month’s launch of Paws & Pals, M&S Food’s first own-label pet food range, which marked its move into the pet food category.
In May, the retailer announced plans to double the size of its Frozen category by increasing in-store space.
M&S Food managing director Alex Freudmann said: “Organic is a category with huge potential. That is why we are investing over £4m to lower prices on more than 50 organic staples, bringing together trusted M&S quality, accredited organic sourcing at great value.”
On the logistics side, M&S last month extended its partnership with Zalando’s B2B fulfilment arm ZEOS to manage direct-to-consumer online operations across 22 European markets.
Following an earlier trial, the arrangement now covers the retailer’s largest online markets—France, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain.
In July, M&S widened its Amazon partnership to the Netherlands, adding to its existing Brand Store fashion presence in France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
The M&S storefront on Amazon.nl will stock more than 1,000 products across women’s, men’s and children’s clothing.
