Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King said: “We like our position in the middle. We are gaining customers trading down from the top-end grocers and restaurants but, as we are competitive on price too, we’re not losing them the other way either.”
King said Sainsbury’s premium Taste the Difference offer was still showing strong sales growth and the grocer is recording strong sales in its higher welfare chickens. He said there are no plans to launch a range similar to Tesco’s Discounter offer, but he will “closely watch” the market.
Sainsbury’s posted like-for-like growth, excluding fuel, of 4.3 per cent for the 16 weeks to October 4 and total sales up 5.3 per cent. First-half like-for-like sales were ahead 3.9 per cent.
“These results demonstrate what we have been doing over the past four years has borne fruit,” said King. “We are tapping into what customers are trying to achieve.”
During the 16 weeks, Sainsbury’s expanded its Basics range – which achieved growth of 30 per cent – to 550 products.
King said Sainsbury’s Switch and Save campaign, which encourages shoppers to buy own-label, has got off to a good start. “Customers trust in our own-label more than they do in similar lines in other major grocers,” he said.
He also said that non-food continues to deliver strong growth, with clothing and soft furnishings performing particularly well. The grocer now has nine flagship stores, which stock a wide range of TU home and clothing lines.
No comments yet