Tesco Ireland has thrown its hat into the cheap school uniform market after increased activity from other supermarkets Aldi and Dunnes. It will launch its full F&F Back to School offering on Monday, 27th July.
Parents can purchase a uniform bundle for €6.50, which includes a combination of a blue polo shirt, a navy jumper and navy trousers for boys or a navy skirt for girls. This is slightly more expensive than the Aldi bundle(available from today) which comes in at just under €5.50 and contains a pair of trousers or a pleated skirt, a two pack of plain polo shirts, and a round neck sweater. Dunnes are the most expensive of the three supermarkets with their cheapest bundle coming in at €11.25.
As part of their launch, Tesco surveyed 1,000 Irish parents about the pressures associated with back to school time. The survey uncovered that hand-me-down uniforms are the second most common initiative to save on costs (58%) but with 42% of parents feeling they should buy new garments for their child, high quality uniforms at great prices are a must. Packing home-made lunches was revealed as the most common cost-cutting exercise implemented by parents (70%) to save on back to school expenses.
Tesco’s research also revealed the ways that parents cut corners when it comes to back to school. Almost a quarter (23%) of parents admitted to buying ready-made cakes to sell at a school “bake sale” to save time, while almost one in five (19%)confessed to regularly driving their children to school in a dressing gown or pyjamas. Perhaps most shocking was the admission by one in ten (8%) to having forgotten to collect their child from school entirely
Alison McElroy, F&F marketing manager, Tesco Ireland said: “Unsurprisingly, our research highlighted that a child’s happiness in school is the number one concern for 6 in 10 parents. Most of us can remember the excitement of putting on our new uniform on the first day of school, and we wanted our collection to tick all the boxes so that parents can feel confident in what they are buying, while their child feels proud about what they are wearing.
“Combining quality with great value prices has always been a priority for F&F, but our added performance benefits across the entire back to school range will ensure that parents get great value for money and quality that will go the distance, giving them one less things to worry about.”
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Niall Swan
