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Morrison’s is like the baby in the family, competing against elder siblings Tesco and Sainsbury’s which started walking and toddling, respectively, a long time ago. The acquisition of Kiddicare and the rights to its technology platform, as well as talks about developing its own clothing range, is a clear sign that Morrison’s wants to take its share of the non-food market. But is it running before its walking? It has yet to deliver the anticipated online grocery shopping service, which is quickly becoming de facto standard for the main, and not so main, supermarkets. Although I’ve no doubt that Tesco will dominate for many years to come, it’s good to see Morrison’s making moves and forcing the market to be just that little bit more competitive for the consumer.

It’s certainly much harder being a supermarket these days. Not least the price war, which has seen Waitrose match its prices on 1000 branded goods to that of Tesco whilst having to retain its upmarket image (no mean feat). Then there’s quality and brand image. When it comes to brand image, each supermarket has to differentiate itself on price and then, if it chooses, quality. It’s hard therefore to be clear on what makes you different from your competitors. Waitrose cornered the organic, ‘local’ supplier route years ago – a well-timed and well-thought out positioning, and Morrison’s has the ‘local’ brand image – local fishmonger, butcher, fromagerie (we’re a nation happy to adopt continental traditions). Neither of these the other supermarkets have quite yet cornered.

Obviously, this is all my personal view but the reality is that often it’s accessibility that dictates your shopping habits. Controversially, I do think Morrison’s has good quality at lower prices than some of the market leaders, but I don’t have one that is on my well trodden commuter route and I’m obviously it’s too much of a faff to deviate. Particularly south of the Watford Gap, where Tesco (and to an extent, Sainsbury’s) has the advantage of being ubiquitous, Morrison’s is still working to stake a hold in this geographic region.

I‘ve a mind to create a supermarket quadrant, but I’m pretty sure some clever person will have already developed one and the fact that there are many more I know nothing about (see the every helpful Wikipedia list), it wouldn’t really be a fair exercise. Makro, for one, is unknown to me, and sounds like a tech hardware company. On that basis alone I’d have to banish it to the bottom left. Which shows just how difficult it is to market your supermarket brand.