Organic nets Habitat brief as Sainsbury's boosts SEO

Sainsbury’s has further strengthened its relationship with digital agency Organic by handing it the SEO account for furniture and interiors retailer Habitat, just weeks after appointing the business to the search marketing account for the main supermarket chain.

Organic has worked with Argos since 2016, the same year its parent Home Retail Group agreed to a £1.4bn takeover by Sainsbury’s, which also brought Habitat into the fold.

Late last year it was revealed that Habitat was to undergo a major online makeover, with plans to close its flagship Tottenham Court Road store and relaunch through Argos, as well as in Sainsbury’s outlets.

The group is already running trials offering a small collection of Habitat furniture in Sainsbury’s and Argos stores, as well as online.

As part of this group strategy, Organic will now develop Habitat’s SEO capabilities by empowering the retailer’s team to help put search at the centre of ecommerce, alongside providing recommendations and support to achieve Sainsbury’s natural search objectives.

Sainsbury’s senior group SEO manager Dan Patmore said: “We are looking forward to continuing to bolster our SEO capabilities with Organic. Having worked with the agency since 2016, they have continued to show their expertise in this area. It’s an exciting time for the brand.”

Organic managing director Ben Scoggins added: “This appointment is another great step in growing our relationship with the Sainsbury’s Argos team. We’ve already kicked the year off working with Sainsburys Supermarkets Ltd, so are excited to begin with Habitat and see where we can go next.”

The appointment also coincides with Sainsbury’s launching a price war against discounter Aldi on hundreds of branded and own-brand products.

Sainsbury’s said the price match was the first initiative under new chief executive Simon Roberts’ strategy update, announced in November. At the time he said: “We are making great progress delivering our Food First plan and I’m determined that in these tough times, we do even more to help our customers save money.”