UK market: Sainsbury’s also enjoys Christmas surprise
Print13 January 2016
Morrison’s isn’t the only major supermarket celebrating its latest results – Sainsbury’s also posted better than expected performance in the Christmas season, leading to an upgrade in its predicted performance for the entire half of 2015.
Amid the rejection of a recent bid for Home Retail, the parent company of Argos, Sainsbury’s had also posted eight subsequent quarters of declining sales and price cuts.
All the doom and gloom will be swept aside temporarily however, as the company’s CEO Mike Coupe revealed strong trading during the festive period and a probably improvement on like-for-like sales in the second half of 2015. Coupe said the company had benefitted from the sale of premium products such as Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference range and a strong Christmas ad campaign known as Mog the Cat.
“Sainsbury’s played a blinder this Christmas,” says Martin Lane of money.co.uk. “It was all over social media and got people talking about the company again.
“With the scrum for the weekly shop as aggressive as ever, Sainsbury’s are fighting fit in the endless battle to discount prices permanently. Rumours are rife that the company is still serious about buying out the Home Retail Group, so it’s certainly one to watch for 2016.”
Lane added that Sainsbury’s need to remember that shoppers today are more savvy than ever. “They do their research and have changed their spending habits,” he said, “so Sainsbury’s need to ensure they tick all the shoppers’ criteria: Competitive Price, Fast, Good Quality and Excellent Service.
“It’s a hard combination to get right, but if they’re to stand a chance against their competitor, they’ve got to work hard to come up with the goods.”
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