Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King has revealed that the supermarket giant has set its sights on ending rival Tesco’s dominance in some parts of the UK.
According to Retail Week, Mr King told a press conference at the company’s Holborn headquarters that Tesco has a stranglehold over more than half of postcodes across Britain, and said Sainsbury’s is aiming to give consumers in these areas more choice by setting up more outlets of its own.
More than one-third of planned new Sainsbury’s stores will be located more than eight miles from an existing Sainsbury’s supermarket, with the retailer eyeing further expansion in Scotland and northern England. Mr King highlighted a recent planning victory in the Scottish Borders town of Kelso as evidence that consumers welcome increased competition.
“All the towns around [Kelso] had Tescos. We were in a direct head-to-head with Tesco on the site and customers in the town said they wanted a Sainsbury’s,” he explained.
Earlier in the week, Sainsbury’s commercial director Mike Coupe told CNBC that the government must do more to encourage nervous shoppers to spend.
