Waitrose is pushing its suppliers to lower their costs as it looks to improve its margins in line with anticipated falls in food inflation.
According to The Grocer, the supermarket met with representatives from its supply chain to discuss business proposals ahead of the 2024 financial year.
During the meeting, suppliers were told the supermarket was anticipating deflation, following what has been a prolonged period of inflation.
As a result, Waitrose is now requesting for businesses to identify any areas of their supply chain where costs have fallen, and could facilitate a price decrease.
It comes as supermarkets attempt to use slowdown methods to rebuild their margins that have been increasingly squeezed during the cost of living crisis.
For example, Tesco told suppliers in July that it expects them to pass on cost savings as it aims to cut prices for customers faster than its rivals.
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The news comes as the rate of food inflation decreased for the sixth consecutive month in October, according to the latest figures released by the British Retail Consortium and NIQ this week, falling to 8.8%, down from 9.9% in September.
A Waitrose spokesman told The Grocer that the supermarket had contacted suppliers about lowering costs.
“Market data shows that, following recent inflation, some elements of cost price have started to subside. We’ve asked suppliers to let us know where they’re seeing costs fall to make sure we remain competitive.”
“How much pressure will be applied to suppliers to bring pricing down – we’ll have to wait and see,” the source said.
