The Beginning of the End of Sainsbury's ?

[najaB]

As I understand it Tesco are to keep the pizza and hot food counters as they make money...

It definitely seems that way, they're usual busy.

 

[hexagon789]

It will be interesting to see what such changes do to market share.

Indeed, given nothing is quite as it was

It definitely seems that way, they're usual busy.

It's the same for most supermarkets with such counters

 

[gordonthemoron]

Locally only Morrisons and Waitrose still have meat/fish/deli counters. However I have found an excellent butchers in Newport Pagnall

 

[Bald Rick]

It will be interesting to see what such changes do to market share.

Next to nothing; I should imagine that the value of goods sold at these counters is essentially negligible in market share terms, and the number of people who will now swap their supermarket because of the absence of said counters will also be negligible.

What is certain is that Sainsbury’s will lose less money.

 

[telstarbox]

Also the counters are quite resource intensive as they need more cleaning than an aisle of packets or tins. It's harder to swap staff around from counters to other parts of the store when it's not busy as they have to do more food hygiene training and wear different gear.

 

[yorksrob]

Next to nothing; I should imagine that the value of goods sold at these counters is essentially negligible in market share terms, and the number of people who will now swap their supermarket because of the absence of said counters will also be negligible.

What is certain is that Sainsbury’s will lose less money.

I don't know. They're always worried about being squeezed by the discounters at one end and Waitrose/M&S at the other.

I'll continue using them as long as they're the only ones that do my beer.

 

[High Dyke]

My local Sainsbury's is currently having a refurbishment, adding in the Argos store. To accommodate that they are doing away with the café. Now it looks like the other counters are going too. The wrong decision IMO, not everyone wants to buy pre-packed meat etc. Ironically, when they first announced a store refurbishment last year we were to have a curry counter included, something the store never had unlike other Sainsbury's.

 

[yorksrob]

My local Sainsbury's is currently having a refurbishment, adding in the Argos store. To accommodate that they are doing away with the café. Now it looks like the other counters are going too. The wrong decision IMO, not everyone wants to buy pre-packed meat etc. Ironically, when they first announced a store refurbishment last year we were to have a curry counter included, something the store never had unlike other Sainsbury's.

Yes, my parents have been quite annoyed about their tardiness in reopening the cafe (much later than many other supermarkets). They suspected ulterior motives.

 

[Ianno87]

My local Sainsbury's is currently having a refurbishment, adding in the Argos store. To accommodate that they are doing away with the café. Now it looks like the other counters are going too. The wrong decision IMO, not everyone wants to buy pre-packed meat etc. Ironically, when they first announced a store refurbishment last year we were to have a curry counter included, something the store never had unlike other Sainsbury's.

Tesco got rid of "in-house" cafes some years ago - the space is usually rented to Costa or somebody instead.

Yes, my parents have been quite annoyed about their tardiness in reopening the cafe (much later than many other supermarkets). They suspected ulterior motives.

Our local Sainsbury's was always busy, but pretty much always had threadbare staff. Presumably to keep the margins up. The space could no doubt be more valuably employed for other uses.

 

[yorksrob]

Tesco got rid of "in-house" cafes some years ago - the space is usually rented to Costa or somebody instead.



Our local Sainsbury's was always busy, but pretty much always had threadbare staff. Presumably to keep the margins up. The space could no doubt be more valuably employed for other uses.

There's been a trend towards the standard coffee shop type set up these days. It's becoming a novelty to be able to get a proper hot meal, rather than just another pannini (yawn).

 

[High Dyke]

Tesco got rid of "in-house" cafes some years ago - the space is usually rented to Costa or somebody instead.

The Tesco store at Boston did that, only to take the café back in house a couple of years ago. My own town lost its Tesco over thirty years ago, and has never got one back, apart from a couple of the Express type shops.

 

[maniacmartin]

Tesco currently stands at about 26%.

Sainsbury's plus Asda would be about 29%

Does that include Tesco owning Booker cash and carry and also a load of brand names that independant corner shops license (Premier, etc)?

Tesco got rid of "in-house" cafes some years ago - the space is usually rented to Costa or somebody instead.

Is it actually rented out, or is Tesco just acting as a franchisee of Costa?

I don't think that this is the beginning of the end for Sainsburys. Its the main place I do my shopping nowadays, and like most people I don't visit the counters.

Also, I would shop at the local butchers, but I don't because they have so much trade that there's always a big queue!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

There's been a trend towards the standard coffee shop type set up these days. It's becoming a novelty to be able to get a proper hot meal, rather than just another pannini (yawn).

Not so very far from where we now live, in the area known as Cheadle Royal, there is a large John Lewis store conjoined to a large Sainsbury's store by a glass atrium area that fronts onto a very large car park. Sainsbury's expanded their store some years ago and it was then their cafeteria was opened and it was noticeable that people working on the nearby Cheadle Royal business park came to that cafeteria for breakfast before starting work and at lunch time, in addition to the people shopping at Sainbury's. After 1130, there was a choice of 10 full cooked meals were served at very reasonable prices. One such meal being Salmon fillet, minted baby potatoes and long-stemmed brocoli for only £6.00 (the local garden centre cafeterias would think naught of charging £11.95 for such a meal). Many shoppers, I am informed, used that cafeteria for Sunday lunch rather than patronising the garden centre cafeterias.

 

[Ianno87]

Not so very far from where we now live, in the area known as Cheadle Royal, there is a large John Lewis store conjoined to a large Sainsbury's store by a glass atrium area that fronts onto a very large car park. Sainsbury's expanded their store some years ago and it was then their cafeteria was opened and it was noticeable that people working on the nearby Cheadle Royal business park came to that cafeteria for breakfast before starting work and at lunch time, in addition to the people shopping at Sainbury's. After 1130, there was a choice of 10 full cooked meals were served at very reasonable prices. One such meal being Salmon fillet, minted baby potatoes and long-stemmed brocoli for only £6.00 (the local garden centre cafeterias would think naught of charging £11.95 for such a meal). Many shoppers, I am informed, used that cafeteria for Sunday lunch rather than patronising the garden centre cafeterias.

That sounds very lovely, but is a person sat occupying a few square metres of store space for 30-45 minutes in exachange for only £6-10 efficient?

 

[yorksrob]

Not so very far from where we now live, in the area known as Cheadle Royal, there is a large John Lewis store conjoined to a large Sainsbury's store by a glass atrium area that fronts onto a very large car park. Sainsbury's expanded their store some years ago and it was then their cafeteria was opened and it was noticeable that people working on the nearby Cheadle Royal business park came to that cafeteria for breakfast before starting work and at lunch time, in addition to the people shopping at Sainbury's. After 1130, there was a choice of 10 full cooked meals were served at very reasonable prices. One such meal being Salmon fillet, minted baby potatoes and long-stemmed brocoli for only £6.00 (the local garden centre cafeterias would think naught of charging £11.95 for such a meal). Many shoppers, I am informed, used that cafeteria for Sunday lunch rather than patronising the garden centre cafeterias.

Doesn't surprise me. The Sainsbury's cafeterias always did a nice breakfast in my experience.

 

[dgl]

Morrisons seem to be bucking the trend on counters and even investing in them (I believe removing a lot of management positions whilst overcompensating by having more jobs on the floor including counters), our Morrisons has just has a makeover (I believe partially to give it a bigger clothing section) and I believe the counters were redone, helps that a lot of the fresh meat on sale is prepared by the butchers in store. Same with the Cafés, again ours has been remodelled three? times since it ceased to be a Safeway and now even has a Barista Bar so two options for getting a drink/snack in the same store whilst still having the ability to have a hot meal. Add to that the great value of their meals (two courses at tea time for £7!) and it's nearly always busy. Even Bridport which is a smaller store (no middle isle) has had a barista bar installed.
Also with Morrisons I like the fact that you can tell from the packaging whether the baked good from their bakery are actually made/baked in store, either stating that it was "baked from scratch in this store", "baked in this store" or if not made in store at all just "from your baker".

At the end of the day Sainsbury's like to think that they are a "better" supermarket and have a "better" class of customer than the like of Tesco/Asda/Lidl/Aldi Etc. yet by removing the services I would expect from a better class of supermarket then what exactly makes them any better?, even more so given that they were never any better just more expensive. Hopefully all employees from the counters/argos' will be offered roles within stores as if I remember correctly

 

[ASharpe]

Another thing that doesn't help counters is the move to online. It works just about with weighed produce and even the standard set of pizzas made in store but pre packed meat of fish is much easier to order and fulfil.

The gradual transition to metric on counters can't be helping either.

 

[Ianno87]

I don't think Sainsbury's quite has the 'upmarket' image that they'd like it to. A fraction better than Tesco maybe, but mot much.

 

[Mojo]

The only thing I use Sainsbury’s counters for is the Pizza… that, I shall miss - but I’ll get over it! Sad reality is that this is business, things have got to be financially justifiable!

The pizza counters aren't going. The announcement refers only to meat, fish and deli counters and explicitly states that pizza will remain open.

(Source, Sainsburys halfyear report: https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/SBRY/half-year-report/14744569)

"We have therefore decided to close permanently our meat, fish and delicatessen counters. Our pizza and patisserie counters remain open and we continue to freshly bake bread in 1,348 stores."

With regards to shopping at Sainsburys; when I first moved out I always did my weekly shop there and it was my preferred supermarket. I did however fall out of favour with it in maybe 2014 when I moved house and there were no normal sized branches (ie. non-Locals) nearby.

I don't ever do big shops there any more but do like to pop in to their large shop if I'm in the area. I stopped going there completely at the start of Covid because they always seemed to have the longest queues. One thing I do like about them however is the selection of home goods, by far the best choice for quality and style given the price. One thing that is their downfall in this regard is the inconsistency in what is stocked in each shop - but much of the range is available at Argos.

Most of my house is designed around their accessories - helped by the fact that I was able to utilise the best part of 15 years worth of Nectar points during the doubleup offer that runs this time of every year.

 

[najaB]

The gradual transition to metric on counters can't be helping either.

What difference does that make? The profit margin on 1lb of beef is the same as it is on 454g, no?

 

[alxndr]

Sainsbury's has always been very forgettable to me. I'll go in if it's there, but otherwise I wouldn't notice if it vanished. The one unique selling point for me is free air in the petrol stations, which is increasingly rare elsewhere.

I'm never quite sure who it caters to. If I think of supermarkets I think:
Cheap - Aldi and Lidl
Standard - Tesco and ASDA
Expensive - Waitrose and M&S
The other two - Sainsbury's and Morrisons

I don't dislike it like I do Morrisons, or avoid it like the expensive two, I have absolutely no feelings towards it whatsoever and have never thought of doing a full shop there.

 

[Scotrail12]

As a Glaswegian, I tend to frequent Sainsbury's (the city has tons of them!) so I hope that they stick around. I've never used the meat/deli counters before though.

Much better than the company they tried to merge with 2 years ago - there's one of them in my town and it creeps me out.

 

[yorksrob]

I do prefer Sainsbury's, but I like that it pitches at the upper, middle range.

I don't want it lowering its standards.

 

[Bald Rick]

Tesco got rid of "in-house" cafes some years ago - the space is usually rented to Costa or somebody instead.

There a lovely Tesco cafe at Perth Tesco’s - always a good stop for an 0800 bacon roll en route to the Highlands.

At the end of the day Sainsbury's like to think that they are a "better" supermarket and have a "better" class of customer than the like of Tesco/Asda/Lidl/Aldi Etc. yet by removing the services I would expect from a better class of supermarket then what exactly makes them any better?,

M&S considers itself a “better” food supermarket - and they don’t have an in store butcher etc. What makes them ‘better’ is better quality products than Tesco / Asda Etc, which in my experience they gernerally do.

The gradual transition to metric on counters can't be helping either.

Err, “counters” have been required by law to sell in metric since the last century. Not sure what is gradual about that.

 

[37424]

Well most my colleagues at Argos are still in shock as this really is a slash and burn of Argos stores. We expected the 120 stores that haven't reopened since lockdown to be closed and maybe some of the remaining smaller stores but not this it means that many major towns with big stores will be reduced to a small inside Sainsburys stores. Most of the major Argos shops still get good footfall and I think quite a few in Argos think this is going too far too fast and a 50% cut keeping the Hub stores and a few of the other big stores would have made more sense . The Hub stores currently supply Home Delivery and click and collect and it looks like they will be replaced by much fewer dark hub fulfillment centres, which I guess is the way of the future Amazon style, but that's going to be a significant investment and cost, and whether it could be described as environmentally friendly is another debatable point as it will mean much longer delivery runs for our home delivery vans.

As for Sainsburys it seems to me that they aren't really sure where they are in the market place and really they need to decide on that before they do anything. The changes today seem to be about simplifying the business which is all very well but I think Sainsburys really need to decide what level in the market place they want to be at.

 

[GusB]

The gradual transition to metric on counters can't be helping either.

What difference does that make? The profit margin on 1lb of beef is the same as it is on 454g, no?

There was never an issue with metric. Safeway changed to metric on deli counters in the late 90s. The company provided guides and conversion charts for staff and customers alike.

To steers myself back on topic, the only Sainsbury's in my area was over 20 miles away, but I made use of it when I was looking after my dad. There was never a queue at any of the food counters, and most of the cheeses were already weighed, wrapped and priced, so you're not even getting the face-to-face service that the counters were once popular for.

I think whether or not deli counters etc. succeed is often dependent on what else is on offer nearby. A store I worked in had a few quality local butchers nearby, and the meat counter had gone before I started there. A store in an area that lacks these local amenities may fare better.

 

[py_megapixel]

many major towns with big stores will be reduced to a small inside Sainsburys stores.

Argos have been going this way for years. It's absolutely nothing new.

 

[richw]

Think it will take more than the loss of the in-store Argos counters and the fresh meat/fish counters to end Sainsbury's.

They aren’t losing in store Argos, they’re losing stand alone Argos stores and opening more in store Argos.

to the OP 3500 job losses from deli, but 6000 new positions created, unlikely to be any physical job cuts in Sainsbury’s stores unless a deli person declines offer of an alternative position

 

[Trackman]

Doesn't surprise me. The Sainsbury's cafeterias always did a nice breakfast in my experience.

My Dad when he was up and about used to love a Sainsbury's breakfast.

 

[transportphoto]

The pizza counters aren't going. The announcement refers only to meat, fish and deli counters and explicitly states that pizza will remain open.

(Source, Sainsburys halfyear report: https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/SBRY/half-year-report/14744569)

"We have therefore decided to close permanently our meat, fish and delicatessen counters. Our pizza and patisserie counters remain open and we continue to freshly bake bread in 1,348 stores."

Good times! I had grouped the pizza counter and the others together, teach me to read all the detail first!