Business Environment - Essay Example

Its upscale class image and competitive prices attract customers looking for value for money. Like its main industry rivals, the company has business interests in banking and property development, two sectors that have been hit hard in the current economic recession. Sainsbury’s is older than its rivals and used to be the biggest and the most profitable, but management missteps some fifteen years ago allowed its rivals to surpass it, Tesco in 1995 and Asda in 2003. In a 2004 management revamp, a new CEO, Justin King, revitalised the business by refocusing on meeting the increasingly fickle and demanding needs of its customers, offering better products at affordable prices.

The four-year Making Sainsbury’s Great Again (MSGA) Plan launched in 2004 exceeded expectations and a new plan, From Recovery to Growth, was crafted for the period 2007-2010 to build on the company’s recovery to expand and drive further growth. These ambitious plans were designed to combine ongoing improvements in boosting operational efficiency to develop a better experience for its customers (Annual Report 2008: 7-10). The new plan focuses on five strategic goals: offer great food at fair prices, accelerate the growth of complementary non-food ranges, reach more customers through additional channels, grow supermarket space, and active property management.

Through its aggressive marketing strategies, information technology leadership, and clear grasp of the needs and wants of its customers, Sainsbury’s target is to catch its next largest rival, Asda. Given the current challenging economic environment, Sainsbury’s is confident that it has a good management team in place ready and able to execute on its plans with a high degree of success (Annual Report 2008: 11). Share prices (Appendix) of Sainsbury’s (LSE: SBRY) went up from 279.25p on 1 December 2008 to 319.

25p as of 6 April 2009, an increase of around 14% for the quarter, which is