Equity, affinity, innovation: What brands can learn from range rationalisation
Brands and retailers are operating in ways now that they couldn’t have imagined even a couple of months ago. From logistics and infrastructure to marketing and communications, the Covid-19 pandemic has forced brands of all shapes and sizes to rethink their entire business models.
With consumer demand at a level that has been emptying supermarket shelves week after week, the primary focus so far has been on maximising efficiencies and availability to keep those shelves – and people’s fridges and cupboards – stocked.
Arla had to react “very quickly” when the UK was building up to lockdown. Sales of Lurpak butter were up by as much as 120% and Cravendale milk by 50% on some days, compared with a normal day.
“What we then looked at was what are some of the SKUs that maybe we had duplication and also then what are some of the smaller SKUs in terms of volume where people could quite easily switch to another one of the same brand, but maybe just a different size,” explains the brand’s senior marketing director, Danny Micklethwaite.