Sainsbury’s Posts Decent Profits After Convincing Us It Doesn’t Just Sell Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Recently doomsayers have been muttering about the demise of Sainsbury’s, saying that in the face of a recession no-one is going to be buying their handsomely packaged mid-price fare, opting instead for Aldi and Lidl’s mysteriously labelled treats. The middle classes, Sainsbury’s target market, were thought to be finally swallowing the revulsion brought on by the brash colour schemes and unwashed clientele of the bargain stores because of the affordable olive oil held within. “‘Wonderful mezze platter darling! Where on earth did you find all this?’ ‘Aldi, darling, I couldn’t believe it!’”, and so on.

But no! Jamie Oliver, that fat-tongued saviour of MSG-scoffers everywhere has clearly tapped into some sort of consumer, because Sainsbury’s profits are looking very healthy indeed – like-for-like sales are up 3.9% in the 28 weeks to October 4th. The success has been attributed to tapping into the credit crunch market, with their “feed your family for a fiver” ad campaign, and expansion of their Basics range. Own-brands now account for 40% of sales, and Basics sales are up 25%. They’re planning to open 150 new stores in the next three years, and their Christmas ad featuring Ant and Dec and Jamie Oliver debuted yesterday, breaking all previous records for cheeky chappiness in a single advertisement.

Waitrose on the other hand isn’t doing so well with its “Smugly Organic” and “Ever So Expensive And Delicious” ranges, though it’s sensibly expanding to where the streets are paved with conspicuous consumption, Dubai. It plans to open 20 stores by 2010; the first opened last week in the sea-turtle-flanked, 12 million sq ft Dubai Mall.

Have you ever noticed, though, how Sainsbury’s Basics openly mock you for your poverty? Their labels, which are full of hideous orange scrawl, always say things like “these beans are a bit crapper than the rest, we haven’t bothered to put all that many in, but it’s all you can afford isn’t it?” And you have to grudgingly accept it, walking mournfully past those beautiful deep forest greens of their So Organic range. I suppose it keeps you chasing that middle-class dream…

Posted by Ben Beaumont-Thomas in Hot Money | November 13, 2008 12:06PM |