Sainsbury’s: a punt on recovery

retail sector: Sainsbury's a punt on recovery - at Moneyweek.co.uk - the best of the week's international financial media..

Who'd want to run a retail chain in the UK? One by one the great high street names seem to be falling. First it was Marks & Spencer, which no longer dresses Britain. Then it was Boots, which no longer sells much in the way of cosmetics, and WH Smith, which can't seem to figure out how to sell books. Now it's Sainsbury's. Once one of the UK's most venerable brands, it warned this week that it could be heading for its first loss in 135 years.

No wonder, says Jan Moir in The Daily Telegraph. Not long ago, Sainsbury's was the top choice for middle-class shoppers keen to pick up everyday basics alongside more exotic items, such as Madagascan vanilla pods, says Moir. Not any more. Today, the firm has an "acute personality disorder; it simply doesn't know who it is". In diversifying and adding cheaper ranges and non-food items it has "diluted the cocktail and damaged the once golden brand". It wanted to be all things to all shoppers, but it's ended up in meltdown mode, selling scores of different varieties of loo roll ("vitamin-E enriched with extra aloe vera, embossed, extra soft, or decorated"), but no Dijon mustard. You can get better prices at Tesco and Asda and better quality at Waitrose and even at the much-maligned M&S.

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