This has been driven by a solid food performance as well as delivering £160 million of synergies ahead of schedule from their Argos business.
According to Nielsen data, Sainsburys customers continue to rate Sainsburys top for food quality, mainly due to the “Taste the Difference” range which continues to outperform the market across similar premium categories.
Online and convenience sales have also grown by 6.9% and 3.7% respectively with the latter outperforming the market. £4.7 billion worth of Sainsbury sales start online so a strategic focus for the business is to continue to invest in technology in a bid to make shopping with Sainsburys quick and efficient for customers. Their most recent development is the UK’s first “checkout-free” grocery store, following Amazons concept in Seattle in January 2018.
Sainsbury’s have now stated their focus is to reduce costs and invest in price, which may be a hint to a strategic next step for the 2nd largest UK retailer and its supply chain.
With the proposed merger between Sainsbury’s and Asda no longer on the horizon NFU Food Chain Adviser, Christine McDowell shares her thoughts about what may be to come.
Mike Coupe, Group Chief Executive of J Sainsbury plc, said:
“I am pleased to report that we have increased profits, reduced net debt and increased the dividend. This is testament to the hard work of colleagues across the business and I would like to thank them for their commitment during this year of change.
“We completed a major transformation of how we run Sainsbury’s stores and have made significant improvements to store standards in recent months, which remain a focus. We are also focused on reducing costs so that we can invest to make commodity products better value for our customers.”
“I am confident in our strategy and also clear on what we need to do to continue to evolve the business in a highly competitive market where shopping habits continue to change”.
To read more on Sainsbury’s financial results, please click here