24th Jun 2016 13:49
LONDON (Alliance News) - The impact on the grocery industry of the UK leaving the European Union is difficult to predict, according to J Sainsbury PLC.
The big four supermarket chain said the business remains well-placed to "continue offering great quality products and services to our customers" following the UK's vote to leave the union.
"It is difficult, at this stage, to predict the impact of leaving the EU, and we will maintain an open dialogue with government and other organisations over the weeks and months ahead," a Sainsbury's spokesperson said on Monday.
Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC, meanwhile, noted that its job now will be to continue serving its customers well in all circumstances.
"There will now be a period where the government negotiates the terms of our exit from the European Union and, as the implications become clear, we will continue to listen to our customers, colleagues, suppliers and shareholders as we lead the turnaround of our business," a Morrisons spokesperson said.
In a call with journalists following its first-quarter trading update on Thursday, Tesco PLC Chief Executive Dave Lewis said the grocer had planned a number of different potential outcomes pending the EU referendum result. Tesco had come to the conclusion it "won't be disadvantaged versus anybody else" whatever the result, which he said would "affect the whole industry and not Tesco disproportionately".
Lewis did say though that a fall in the value of sterling in the event of Brexit would have an impact on the price of foreign-sourced products, in which case Tesco "would have to sit down and decide what that means in terms of commercial sustainability".
Shares in Sainsbury's were trading down 6.7% on Friday afternoon, while Morrisons shares were down 3.2% and Tesco's up 0.2%.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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