Later this week, the full year announcement of Sainsburys’ finances will be made, and through them, the failings of the big four stores during the price war of the last year may be reflected loud and clear in the results of the supermarket chain.
In the sixth months leading up to September, the superstore chain had suffered a loss of £290 million.
But with plans of price cutting by up to £150 million having been instigated, and improvements on stock, Sainsbury’s could have dragged itself and its finances back up to scratch.
The issue with property space and the big four stores has crept up recurrently over the last year. Sainsbury’s has admitted it owned a lot of underutilised space in its property portfolio, and that it had to undergo some organisation to try and make the most of the potential shelf space which isn’t being used effectively.
Despite this, when the results are posted this week, it is expected that the store will reveal a 17 per cent drop in profits down to £660 million.
This could, according to some, put Sainsbury’s into a statutory loss for the first time in a decade.
The market share between the grocers of the country still hasn’t returned to normal, and it is unlikely ever to. Aldi have recently overtaken Waitrose in terms of market share, making up a reported 5.3 per cent of the grocery market. Tesco still held 28.4 per cent in the 12 weeks to 29 March. But now the discount stores have a more dedicated customer base which the bigger stores let fall through their fingers while they were busy competing with each other.
