Sainsbury's to place focus back on food

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has announced a ‘food first’ strategy moving forward as it looks to “tighten” its focus on general merchandise and clothing ranges in its stores.

The ‘Next Level Sainsbury’s’ strategy aims to offer more space to its food offering “by reallocating some space currently occupied by general merchandise and clothing,” to strengthen the business and deliver enhanced returns to shareholders, explained the supermarket in a statement.

The move it states will align more closely to customers’ grocery shopping habits and ensure ranges are “relevant and irresistible at the right moments”. Currently, only half of its primary customers buy its general merchandise and clothing products during shopping trips.

Simon Roberts, chief executive of J Sainsbury plc, said: “Our ‘Next Level Sainsbury’s’ strategy is about giving customers more of what they come to Sainsbury’s for - outstanding value, unbeatable quality food and great service. Thanks to our scale, our brand and our people, we are in a unique position to deliver for customers across Sainsbury's, Argos and Nectar.

“We’re determined to be First Choice for Food, ensuring more customers in more of our stores can enjoy more brilliant Sainsbury’s food. That means more space for our food offer, while still delivering the general merchandise products customers want from us. That way, not only will we find more ways to delight new and existing customers, we will also continue growing volume market share.”

There was no mention in the new strategy for Sainsbury’s ‘fashion hubs,’ which were announced last September, offering a curated offering of complementary third-party brand partners alongside its Tu clothing ranges.

At the time it was stated the fashion destinations would give Sainsbury’s customers more choices and kickstart the supermarket’s plans to grow its branded proposition “at pace” over the next five years, to help attract new customers.