reLAKSation Callander McDowell
Asda
Two or three years ago, Asda was really proactive in promoting National Seafood Week, however in recent years their effort has been much diminished. This year the only evidence of the Seafood Fortnight promotion was that packs of some, but not all, prepacked seafood carried the ‘2 a week’ sticker. Whilst the chilled seafood carried minimal signs of the promotion, Asda’s fresh fish counter, by comparison, displayed none.
Even though there was no mention of Seafood Fortnight in any of the stores, Asda’s magazine included a two-page feature about fish which actually mentioned the Seafood Fortnight promotion, although not in the biggest typeface.
The highest profile coverage of the promotion occurred in a newspaper advert that Asda placed in the local press. In celebration of Seafood Fortnight, Asda discounted wild Alaskan salmon from £1.70/100g to £1.20/kg.
This £5/kg discount seems a good deal but the previous week wild salmon on Asda’s fish counter was selling at just £11.92/kg and at £11.98/kg in prepacked form. In fact, prepacks still remain at that price whilst we have subsequently seen wild Alaskan salmon on various fish counters priced at £11.92/kg, at £1.20/100g and at £1.70/100g (£16.98/kg). With prepacked Alaskan salmon priced at £11.98/kg we would think any Asda customer would not be prudent if they paid any more.