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UK: Sainsbury’s seeks to move on from failed Asda merger

By  |  May 1, 2019
Sainsbury’s has vowed to improve its stores and technology and cut prices as its chief executive said was “drawing a line under the past” following its failed merger with Asda.

The UK’s second-largest supermarket, still smarting from the competition regulator’s decision to block the proposed £10bn merger, suffered a 42pc decline in full-year pre-tax profit, which fell to £239m.

The chief executive of Sainsbury’s has said he has the full support of the board to remain in his post despite a failed attempt to merge. “I’m sticking to the company. I’m very proud of the organisation I run,” Mike Coupe, who took the helm at Sainsbury’s in July 2014, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

He added later that he expected to remain in the post for “months and years”. He said: “The board is fully supportive of the leadership team and there isn’t a single major investor that wasn’t supportive of the [Asda] deal but also recognised there were risks involved.”

Full Content: The Guardian

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