Crosby poised for growth in Sainsbury's masterplan; Fifth year of like-for-like sales progress.

Byline: NEIL HODGSON 

SUPERMARKET giant Sainsbury's will create 10,000 jobs over the next two years as part of its expansion plans, chief executive Justin King said.

The group increased its store space by 3% in the half-year to October 3, and is spending pounds 2bn on expansion in the two years to 2011 to grow space by 15%, including ambitious plans for its Crosby store.

A public consultation was recently held over the store group's plans and a planning application is expected to be submitted before the end of this year.

The new facility would more than double existing retail space in the Crosby Village outlet and add another 150 jobs to the 240-strong workforce.

Sainsbury's proposals include up to six new retail units as part of the development, including conversion of the current site to new retail opportunities.

The expansion plans were included in Sainsbury's latest interim figures which revealed a fifth consecutive year of like-forlike sales growth.

The UK's third biggest grocery chain achieved a 31% rise in pretax profits of pounds 342m and a 3.7% increase in total sales of pounds 11.15bn.

However, Mr King reiterated caution over second-half sales growth having previously warned that easing food inflation would slow sales and he confirmed that market growth was expected to fall back in a challenging environment.

The results were welcomed by analysts after profits bettered the pounds 300m expected in the City.

Sainsbury's had emerged as a surprise winner in the recession as it tempted shoppers away from Tesco and more expensive grocers, led by successful advertising campaigns such as Feed your Family for a Fiver.

But it will be tough to maintain the sharp rises in sales over the past year as food prices ease back and the expected economic recovery arrives.

Chief executive Justin King said: "As we enter the second half, we expect the economic environment to remain challenging and market growth to slow due to reduced food price inflation."

He added: "We remain confident that our universal customer appeal means we are well positioned to perform in this environment."

The firm, which rings up more than 18.5m sales through its tills each week, said non-food was growing at a rate of two-and-a-half times that of food as it ramps up store expansion plans.

CAPTION(S):

An artist's impression of the proposed new Sainsbury's store development for Crosby village