“We’ve certainly hit our nadir”, he told reporters on Tuesday, added that he had seen some green shoots of growth in the third quarter.
Advertisement
Clarke said the business continued to “navigate a steady course through the worst storm in retail history”.
Sales at Yorkshire supermarket giant Asda have fallen for a fourth straight quarter, with chief executive Andy Clarke describing the performance as “disappointing, but a short-term picture”.
The sales and profits of Britain’s so called Big Four grocers, which also include Morrisons, have been dented by a fierce price war as the success of discounters Aldi and Lidl has prompted them to slash prices and improve service.
Before Asda published their second-quarter results Sainsbury’s said it is going to extend a price matching scheme to online orders, the latest salvo in an escalating industry price war.
The supermarket chain already operates Brand Match in stores, whereby customers receive a ticket at the end of their shop detailing how much money they have saved on branded products compared with at Asda.
Robbie Feather, director of online at Sainsbury’s, said he hoped the move would strengthen its online offering.
Sainsbury’s online shoppers will receive a message confirming whether or not their basket was better value at Sainsbury’s than Asda.
Advertisement
Sainsbury’s shares were lower on the FTSE 100 index, off 0.9p at 252.5p, while Tesco shed 1.9p at 200.3p, and William Morrison was down 1.4p at 174.3p having been knocked yesterday that it is close to selling its M-Local convenience store business.
