Sainsbury’s News
J Sainsbury’s has reported like-for-like retail sales down 2.1% excluding fuel during the 12 weeks to 6 June, 2015.
Total retail sales for first quarter were down by 0.6% (excl fuel) and also down 2.3% (inc fuel).
Mike Coupe, chief executive, said that “strong levels of food deflation and a highly competitive pricing backdrop” are impacting trading conditions.
He added that the grocer, which is known for its “differentiated offer”, introduced new products in several categories focusing on British sourcing wherever possible during the first quarter.
“We have also improved our seasonal fresh offer in time for summer. For example, our by Sainsbury’s BBQ Smoked Chilli Pulled Pork and by Sainsbury’s BBQ Sweet Chilli Chicken Thighs give customers meat cuts and flavours that are perfect for the barbeque,” he said.
“Volume and transactions continue to grow as customers are benefiting from our improved value and further investments in quality. We have simplified our promotional offer, which has reduced promotional participation further, helping to lower waste and give customers even better levels of availability. We committed to deliver our cost savings programme without impacting the customer experience.
“We continue to make it easier for customers to shop with us whenever and wherever they want. We have now opened 20 grocery Click & Collect sites and remain on track to have 100 sites by the end of 2015.”
Family allowed to keep ‘Broc’ as family pet while retailer stresses broccoli is ‘thoroughly inspected’ at point of harvest
A family found a live gecko in a bag of Spanish broccoli they were preparing to cook over the Christmas period, the Daily Mirror has reported.
The Martin family, from Powys in Wales, said the vegetable had been kept in the shed for four days and four nights before being taken out for the Christmas meal.
Jolene Martin removed the plastic wrapping from the broccoli, before chopping it up and placing it in a pan, when she spotted the creature.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “Our broccoli is thoroughly inspected and checked while it’s being harvested, however this gecko clearly had other ideas and we’re glad it’s found a new home.”
After contacting the RSPCA, the family were told they could keep the gecko, now christened ‘Broc’, as a family pet as it was “too difficult to send it back to Spain”, the Mirror reported.
Sainsbury’s has announced a £150m investment in price cuts as it revealed a 2.1% fall in like-for-like sales.
Sainsbury’s released its interim results for the 28 weeks ending 27 September 2014, showing underlying profit before tax down 6.3% to £375m from £400m in 2013/2014. Underlying basic earnings per share were also down significantly, by -12.7% to 14.5p compared with 16.6p in 2013/2014.
The supermarket, alongside Tesco, Asda and Morrisons, has been hard-hit by the success of discount brands Aldi and Lidl.
To combat this, Sainsbury’s said it would invest £150m in reducing prices, half of which will fall in the second half of 2014/15 and the remainder in the first half of 2015/16.
Moreover, Sainsbury’s stated it would work closely with its suppliers to provide lower prices for it customers and “deliver value chain efficiencies which can be reinvested in price”.
Chief executive Mike Coupe said Sainsbury’s would continue to put customers first: “We will continue to differentiate ourselves from a position of strength by offering great products and services at fair prices, investing in the quality of our food and investing in price in areas where our customers tell us it matters most. By knowing our customers better than anyone else, we will continue to serve them through multiple channels and in ways that make their lives easier, regardless of changes in the market. Our colleagues will remain our greatest asset; we will invest in their training and development to ensure they can continue to deliver industry-leading service.”
David Tyler, chairman, said: “The UK grocery sector has become increasingly challenging in recent months. As a result, we have evolved our strategy and believe this will allow us to build on our heritage and past success, especially as it will be delivered by the most experienced management team in the industry.”