Industry experts have described the new Sainsbury’s strategy as “more evolution rather than revolution”.
Simon Roberts has reiterated that he wants to “put food at the center” of his business. He will expand on the “food first” plan that he introduced in 2020, which has helped regain market share from German discounters Aldi Lidl.
The strategy is largely the same. Sainsbury’s aims to become the first choice for food in Britain by offering more value, greater choice, and a focus on fresh produce. It plans to increase sales at Argos by providing more convenience, value and choice to customers.
The organisation also plans to save and invest “to win” by reducing costs to £1 billion. This will allow it to invest into automation, simplify processes, and “right-size” its organization.
Clive Black of Shore Capital said that Sainsbury’s mid-term plan was a continuation of the direction Roberts had so successfully accelerated during his tenure as CEO. He applauded Roberts and welcomed the investment of a British company.
William Woods is a retail analyst with Bernstein. He said that the overall plan was more evolution than revolution. It built on the “food-first” strategy which has so far been successful at turning around the market share and bringing back the focus to food. William Woods, a retail analyst at Bernstein, said the overall plan was “more evolution than revolution”. He added that the food-first strategy has been successful in reversing market share and bringing the focus back to food.