Sainsbury's Supermarkets is the UK's longest standing major food retailing chain, having opened its first store in 1869. The Sainsbury's brand is built upon a heritage of providing customers with healthy, safe, fresh and tasty food. Today it differentiates itself by offering a broad range of great quality products at fair prices with particular emphasis on fresh food, a strong ethical approach to business and continuous leadership and innovation.

Products are improved and developed to ensure the company leads in terms of the ingredients used and integrity of sourcing. A large Sainsbury's store offers around 30,000 products and an increasing number of stores also offer complementary non-food products and services. 165 stores also operate an internet-based home delivery shopping service.
 

In May 2007 we identified five areas of focus to take Sainsbury’s from recovery to growth:

• Great food at fair prices: To build on and stretch the lead in food. By sharing our customers’ passion for healthy, safe, fresh and tasty food, Sainsbury’s will continue to innovate and provide leadership in delivering quality products at fair prices, sourced with integrity.  
• Accelerating the growth of complementary non-food ranges: To continue to develop and accelerate the development of non-food ranges following the same principles of quality, value and innovation and to provide a broader shopping experience for customers.  
• Reaching more customers through additional channels: To extend the reach of the Sainsbury’s brand by opening new convenience stores, developing the online home delivery operation and growing Sainsbury’s Bank.  
• Growing supermarket space: To expand the company’s store estate, actively seeking and developing a pipeline of new stores and extending the largely underdeveloped store portfolio to provide an even better food offer while also growing space for non-food ranges.  
• Active property management: The ownership of property assets provides operational flexibility and the exploitation of potential development opportunities will maximise value.