Sales at Sainsbury’s continue to tumble as pressure grows on CEO Mike Coupe

Big four supermarket Sainsbury’s has seen like-for-like sales continue to tumble over the past four months, as pressure continues to weigh down on boss Mike Coupe.

By The Newsroom

Published 3rd Jul 2019, 08:39 BST

Sainsbury's supermarket at Colton In Leeds.

Mr Coupe is expected to face criticism from some investors at the supermarket’s annual general meeting today, following the collapse of its planned mega-merger with Leeds-based Asda earlier this year.

The retailer saw like-for-like sales slide by 1.6 per cent in the 16 weeks to June 29, as its decline accelerated from 0.9 per cent in the previous quarter.

Chief executive Mike Coupe said: “We continue to adapt our business to changing shopping habits and made good progress in a challenging market.

“We reduced prices on over 1,000 everyday food and grocery products and improved our relative performance.

“In a tough trading environment, we gained market share in key general merchandise categories and in clothing, where we are now the UK’s fifth largest retailer by volume.”