// Sainsbury’s CEO Mike Coupe may face axe following merger disapproval
// Analysts predict like-for-like sales to be down 0.3% during full-year results this Wednesday
Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe is fighting for his job after the CMA disapproved of the supermarket’s proposed £12 billion merger with Asda.
Coupe was the brain behind the proposed acquisition of Asda, which would have put Sainsbury’s ahead of longtime Big 4 leader Tesco, and successful discounters Aldi and Lidl.
However, the plan was investigated and rejected by the CMA – which saw Sainsbury’s share price drop at its lowest since the 2016 Brexit vote.
The CMA said the deal would harm competition by increasing prices in stores and online.
Meanwhile, analysts expect like-for-like sales to be down 0.3 per cent when Sainsbury’s posts its full-year results on Wednesday.
Coupe accused the watchdog of ignoring the supermarkets’ promises to hand shoppers price cuts of over £1 billion.
The debacle is said to have prompted questions about Coupe’s future as chief executive.
Since he took the reins in July 2014, Sainsbury’s shares have dipped 14.7 per cent – compared to the FTSE 100’s rise of 12.6 per cent.
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7 Comments. Leave new
The Sainsbury’s staff are not happy with the leadership of Mr Coupe, one colleague said to me the level of engagement at shop floor level is at an all time low and many of us are worried about our job.
I’m glad I’m retired as no job is safe with the big 4 or any bricks & mortar retailers as the CEO,Board & Management are just profit motivated and will sacrifice the staff in favour of profit.
Sack him!! A very selfish man who is driving the company into the ground for his own financial benefit! He has un-done all of the great work done by Justin King!
He’s not singing anymore
Hope he gets made redundant like he did the past few years to thousands of people
By taking his eye of the customer and sacrificing the colleagues, Mike Coupe has undone all the great work Justin King did in reversing Sainsbury’s decline and “making Sainsbury’s great again”. He needs to go now.
Absolutely ridiculous comments from people who have no idea. It’s not Mike Coupe’s fault. It’s the CMA who are too blame. They have no idea about anything. Do Lidl and Aldi who are companies that have been allowed into the United Kingdom and seem to be taking our jobs and money. Why have they been allowed to do what they like. Having worked at Sainsbury’s as a warehouse colleague, a stock control clerk and now a manager. I’ve witnessed hundreds of warehouse colleagues abusing the absence policy.
But clearly the cms are not bothered that Amazon, Costa Coffee and Starbucks don’t pay the VAT that we’ve been charged on our purchases. I’ve already stopped buying from Amazon in protest. If I don’t pay the tax on my earnings and the tax man when I ran my own business.
I’d be serving time in prison for tax evasion