UK Grocer Sainsbury’s Has Record Quarter

British supermarket retailer Sainsbury’s has seen a growth in sales of over 6% in the first quarter of 2009 – the best spike in sales they’ve seen in ten years. Consumers seem to have switched from branded goods to their ‘value’ offering. The FT gives a little more insight:

Justin King, who next week celebrates five years as chief executive of Britain’s third largest supermarket chain, said he had achieved the growth by poaching shoppers from rivals and getting them to spend more.

Underlying sales, excluding fuel, rose 6.2 per cent in the 11 weeks to March 21 compared with the same period last year… He said Sainsbury was also benefiting from marketing campaigns, such as “feed your family for a fiver”, countering accusations that it is more expensive than rivals. The Basics range now accounts for 3 per cent of sales, against 2 per cent last year, while its top-end Taste the Difference range is on the wane as shoppers trade in ready meals for home cooking.

Analysts at JPMorgan said: “It seems increasingly clear that Sainsbury is going to emerge a much stronger company . . . since it is managing to gain brand equity for its ‘value’ while simultaneously retaining its ‘quality’ image.”

FT.com / UK – Sainsbury records best quarterly sales in decade
Sainsbury’s