X Factor Online – x factor videos | x factor news | x factor winners

X Factor boosts Sainsbury’s profits

(UKPA)
–
6 hours ago

The chief executive of Sainsbury’s has said the supermarket had benefited from the “X Factor effect” as customers saved money by staying in to watch their favourite TV shows.

Justin King said the retailer’s Taste the Difference range had seen a sharp growth in sales since its relaunch in September, which he believed reflected a trend of consumers improving home dining rather than going out to restaurants.

The premium offering was given a £1 billion makeover earlier this year, with two-thirds of the 1,100 product range changed or improved.

Mr King said: “People are staying in rather than going out to eat. People are watching the X Factor and other TV shows but they’re eating well while they’re doing it.”

The autumn television season boasts some of terrestrial television’s most-watched shows, including The X Factor on ITV and BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.

Gemma Lovelock, retail analyst at TLC Marketing Worldwide, said the results reflected “an entrenched stay-at-home culture” over the past two to three years. She said: “People are not just eating more at home they are also drinking more at home and the supermarkets generally are benefiting from this behavioural shift.”

Mr King’s comments came as Sainsbury’s posted an 8% rise in half-year profits to £332 million and boasted record customer numbers.

The supermarket sector is proving increasingly competitive as cash-strapped consumers resist price hikes caused by commodity price inflation. But Sainsbury’s is one of the strongest players in the market and figures on Tuesday revealed it was the only one of the “big four” supermarkets to grow market share in the three months to October 31.

Mr King said customer numbers were now at an all-time high of more than 20 million transactions every week, which was up one million on last year.

Sainsbury’s said it had “worked hard” to keep prices lower in the face of rising food costs, but had seen the same customers buying from both its basics and premium ranges.

Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.