Sainsburys To Focus More On Gaming and Entertainment

Mon, 12 Jul 2010

 
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Sainsbury’s is to dedicate more retail space in its UK supermarkets to computer games and other entertainment goods following significant growth in the sector.

The supermarket chain recently reported its fifth consecutive year of like-for-like sales growth in the entertainment market, and a 17.5 per cent rise in profit.

As a result, the company said that games will receive five per cent more floor space before Christmas, growing to 12 per cent by 2012, as part of wider plans to invest £1.3bn in building space over the next year.

There will also be greater focus on entertainment products in Sainsbury’s newly-announced ‘new format’ stores.

Richard Crampton, head of entertainment at Sainsburys, said the stores will be particularly beneficial for games firms such as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, as they will provide a "great opportunity" for them to showcase their brand and products in a "completely different way".

Crampton added that Sainsbury’s is also preparing to launch a digital distribution service for all entertainment products . "We will sell people things digitally through an integrated online basket," he said. "Customers either buy the CD or download it – it’s their choice, and that will be the case with all formats."