Last updated 13:52, Thursday, 02 October 2008

The boss of Cumbrian supermarket Booths says the firm can take on the big hitters in the battle to cut prices.

‘Privileged position’: Booths has five stores in Cumbria

Edwin Booth said the firm’s 26 stores, including five in the county, had been bitten by the credit crunch and were now ready to match the discounts offered by the likes of Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.

Booths operates stores in Keswick, Kendal, Ulverston, Kirkby Lonsdale and Windermere and will open in Penrith soon.

Mr Booth said: “Tesco in particular is reducing very strongly, and to counter that we are looking at providing more value for the produce we sell.

“But at the same time we aim to not lose sight of our principles of supplying high-quality food and drink.

“We are in a privileged position where we have spent considerable time and effort in looking at improving our position which has given us a strong base.

“However, in the second quarter we have seen some effect so we are not immune to the credit crunch.”

He added: “The key is to keep on doing what you do well, understand the difficulties of your customer and tough it out with them as best you can.”

Last week, Booths revealed it had formed a buying alliance with Waitrose in a bid to drive down prices charged by its suppliers.