Sensbury’s customers ‘see every penny’ as living costs rise

Sainsbury’s says its customers are starting to see “every penny” as the lifestyle crisis mounts, which, combined with significant cost increases and supply problems, will reduce profits in the supermarket chain next year.

The UK’s second-largest grocer said it would make full-year profits of up to £ 690m over the next 12 months, down from £ 730m in the same period last year, which it said was helped by the বিক 100m of extra sales driven by the Covid-19 epidemic.

Tesco and Morrison added that the warning came as the grocery sector was hit by a combination of epidemics, Brexit and the Ukraine war, which would hurt profits due to rising costs, slow sales and heavy competition over prices.

Simon Roberts, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, said it was an “early day” in the wake of signs of a change in consumer behavior, with many more fuel bills coming into effect this month alone for many families. But he said: “Customers are being a little more cautious, looking at every penny, every pound.”

He said the cost of food production was rising “from farm to thorn”, adding that while Ukraine’s war power, fuel, fertilizer and animal feed added to existing pressures, Censbury was persuading producers to pay extra cash for pork, milk and so on. Especially eggs.

“We are focused on how we can keep the tide flowing and keep prices down,” he said [for customers]Roberts says.

He said Censbury’s profits for next year would be reduced by the need to control the price of essential commodities – many of which matched the prices of chain discount alders – as well as the need for home-cooked meals in restaurants and cafes now. And the office has reopened.

The group expects lower sales of non-food items at its Argos stores, where epidemiological-related factories and port restrictions are hampered, despite customers’ excess cash and the difficulty of supplying items such as Chinese-made TVs and consumer electronics. .

Costs could also rise this fall due to the need to rehabilitate censorship stores to meet new government rules for marketing high-fat, salty and sugary foods.

Sensebury’s profit warning came after a 3.4% increase in supermarket sales in March, which led to a 60% increase in petrol sales and a 13% increase in clothing sales as people returned to socialization and epidemic restrictions were relaxed as offices.

Sales of groceries were stable, but general merchandise declined by about 12%, led by a decline in toys and consumer electronics sales at the Argos store.

The underlying pretax profit doubled to £ 730m as the company reduced the cost of personnel and protective gear required during the epidemic. Sainsbury’s also gets a one-time benefit of এবং 182m in legal settlement of credit and debit card fees.

Roberts said retailers were aiming to keep inflation under wraps. The plan includes introducing more automated tiles and merging its delivery network and supply chains from Argos, Sensbury and its Habitat home furnishing brands.

The group also closed 200 in-store cafes and some hot food counters, switching in partnership with Starbucks and Boparan Holdings, owners of Giraffe, Carluccios and Ed’s Diners.

“We know how everyone is feeling the effects of inflation, which is why we are so determined to provide the best value for our customers. We’ve been able to run more investments to reduce food prices financed by our comprehensive cost savings plan, ”Roberts said.