危 – wēi – danger

The recession promised major changes in consumer shopping behaviour, largely shifting the premium base to value. This was widely expected to be a disaster for Waitrose.

机 – jī – opportunity

Waitrose had other ideas, they launched an Essentials range but they also played with messaging. The success of the “As Good As Going Out” ready-meal range was particularly impressive – the sales increased 44% year on year as the recession bit. Waitrose had hit on something – they had positioned the range as a lower cost alternative to eating out (rather than an expensive meal in).

How about…

• repositioning your offer to help consumers benchmark you against a different competitive set