When I began with Aldi back in the 90s, the phrase that was always coined was ‘we are a market follower not a market leader’ but it seems with Aldi’s very clear vision and pricing strategy, and the advent of ‘Jacks’ as a physical entity, Aldi has truly turned the tables.

Tesco’s take on the new 15-store launch is that this project is to celebrate their founder Jack Cohen, and the trial should not be a distraction from business as usual and the focus to re-assert Tesco’s market competitiveness.

Poppycock – ‘having a bash at a new channel’, I think was the phrase quoted too, I think their founder might take a different view, to find that current management was celebrating his centenary and success with a new formula and a copycat at that – obviously the old is not working or is seriously under threat.

To copycat takes a lot of energy and vigilance and I should know, we spent a lot of time monitoring the market. But it was that same dogged determination and focus on price that allowed Aldi to win over consumers, and that takes time and consistency to win trust. Tesco has chosen a very tricky and uncertain time to take this new format to the market and particularly given the trading implications Brexit may bring.

What it means for farmers

From a UK-farming perspective, there are a lot of Union Jacks associated with the new channel Jacks and a commitment to be buying more than 75% British, 76% in fact, just to beat Aldi. This translates to eight out of 10 of the 1,600 products stocked which could be great for farming, as long as Tesco is ready to stomach the pressure on their margin, because there is a good chance Tesco will not be able to deliver their usual margin, if they intend to beat Aldi and Lidl’s retails every week. In the face of Brexit, this commitment to British agriculture could be a good thing if the chain expands too, and there are rumours of 100 stores, but it could be extremely costly for Tesco given their retail commitment to being very, very competitive.

Another factor to consider is that the UK food industry is built on imported labour and the success of Jacks and other retail chains may be impacted hugely by the uncertainty in this domain. As food supply chains remain uncertain, so Jacks with its British sourcing roots may represent a possible new norm, but in size and scale it has a long way to go, but may represent the olive branch which could be the root of UK supermarket retail of the future.

Tesco has a lot riding on this project, led by a former Aldi colleague, because they have made many claims, and consumers may be fickle at times, but they can be very unforgiving particularly when purses are stretched and promises are not fulfilled.