UK | Sainsbury’s has shared plans to accelerate into the second year of its three-year Next Level strategy.
As Sainsbury’s has approached the end of the first year of its Next Level strategy, more customers have chosen the retailer for their big shop. The business has seen strong momentum, with seven consecutive quarters of volume growth, its best-ever value position and record customer satisfaction scores at Christmas.
Part of the company’s plan has been to become First Choice for Food. Sainsbury’s has shared plans to create space to offer more fresh food ranges in more stores. This will involve proposals to close the remaining patisserie, hot food, and pizza counters while making its most popular items available in the aisles.
The retailer will complete the roll-out of updated bakery recipes and new self-serve bread slicing by the summer to ensure consistent quality and value.
To simplify the business further, the retailer has decided to close its remaining 61 Sainsbury’s Cafés, subject to consultation. Most of Sainsbury’s loyal shoppers do not use the Cafés regularly, and Cafés and food halls run by specialist partners have gained popularity.
The business also updated its central management structures to support faster decision-making and drive performance at Sainsbury's and Argos.
Rhian Bartlett will become Chief Commercial Officer, Sainsbury’s, and Graham Biggart will be MD Argos and Chief Strategy and Supply Officer.
Patrick Dunne, Director of Property and Procurement, will also join the Operating Board as Chief Property and Procurement Officer and MD for SmartCharge.
The retailer has also planned to update its central divisions and management structures as part of Sainsbury’s Save and Invest to Win programme to deliver GBP 1 billion of operating cost savings. This will see all head office departments reorganised to become dedicated to the different needs of the Sainsbury’s and Argos businesses while creating fewer, bigger roles with clearer accountabilities.
The changes were designed to accelerate decision-making and reduce costs. Over the next few months, senior management roles will be reduced by an estimated 20 percent. The proposals, which have been shared with colleagues, are expected to reduce over 3,000 roles across the business.
Sainsbury's has been talking to the colleagues affected about what the changes mean for them and exploring redeployment opportunities where this is possible. This also provides a support package to those affected who exceed statutory requirements while offering opportunities for tailored guidance for their future career options.
“We launched our Next Level Strategy almost a year ago and are totally focused on making good food joyful, accessible and affordable for everyone every day. As a result, we’re seeing real momentum across our business, with a best-ever value position, leading quality and increasing market share,” said Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s Chief Executive.
“As we accelerate into year two and beyond of our strategy, we are facing into a particularly challenging cost environment,t which means we have had to make tough choices about where we can afford to invest and where we need to do things differently to make our business more efficient and effective.
The decisions announced were essential to ensuring continuity and driving momentum forward but have also meant some difficult choices that have impacted dedicated colleagues in several parts of the business.
