Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s boost over Christmas
As recession is looming nearer. Sainsbury’s has had a good Christmas and is creating 5,000 near jobs this year.
Sainsbury’s served a recorded 22.5 million customers
Supermarket to employ 5,000 extra staff
A record-breaking Christmas is helping Sainsbury’s to create 5,000 jobs this year.
The supermarket – which already employs 150,000 – had its best ever festive season with sales for the last three months of the year up 4.5 per cent on the same period in 2007.
The group hired 20,000 temps to help cope with the surge in trade – 8,000 more than originally planned. read more
Tesco
Tesco trails after new discount offers backfire
One of the largest supermarket changes in Britain “Tesco” has suffered over the Christmas period. It was the worse performing on the top four supermarkets. This article is in direct contrast to Sainsbury’s bumper Christmas sales.
The Article
Tesco will this week report the weakest Christmas trading of the big four supermarkets as doubts set in over its ambition to become “Britain’s biggest discounter”.
Analysts expect Tesco to post a 2.5% increase in like-for-like sales, lagging behind a field led by Morrisons, with an estimated 9%, nearly 7% at Asda and 4.5% at Sainsbury’s.
Last year Tesco introduced a range of discount brands such as “Country Barn” cornflakes and “Daisy” washing up liquid to compete with Aldi and Asda. Analysts fear that the cheaper brands cannibalise sales: because these brands cost less, Tesco must sell more to stand still.
“This is the first big mistake Tesco has made in a decade,” said Planet Retail analyst Bryan Roberts.
The supermarkets fared better than non-food specialists during a tough holiday season for the retail sector with results from specialists such as Currys and Argos, also due on Thursday, expected to make grim reading as consumers deferred spending on non-essential items. Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy will say that consumers let go of the purse strings to buy “special” Christmas treats for their families.
read full article sourced from The Observer
