Sainsbury struggles in second quarter
J Sainsbury, Tesco, and WM Morrison have all shown significantly poor growth in sales during the second quarter, which industry experts attribute to low food inflation and the rising cost of petrol. The UK supermarket and retail industries have been sluggish with no signs of immediate improvement as consumers all across the country hold on to their money during the current economic crisis felt all over the globe.
Sainsbury’s announced a like-for-like sales increase of 1.1 per cent, excluding fuel, in the three months to 12 June, with a total of .3 per cent increase with the inclusion of value-added-tax (VAT). Tesco suffered an even worse fate during the second quarter, as its growth was a paltry .1 per cent after including VAT. WM Morrison saw an increase, with VAT, of .8 per cent during the quarter.
According to Justin King, Sainsbury’s Chief Executive Officer, the expectations are grim for the food industry over the next two quarters, as he expects little to no growth as a result of low food inflation. He went on to add that shoppers are much more apt to hang on to their money, particularly due to the gloomy economic forecast and the rising costs of petrol.
Sainsbury’s did have some good news to report, however. The company had purchased over 75,000 vuvuzelas, the World Cup horn used to celebrate this year’s games, and expects to sell out of the trendy souvenir this week in stores around the country.