Deals

Sainsbury Shows Need for Asda Deal as Grocery Growth Slows

  • Comparable retail sales rose 0.2% in the latest quarter
  • Supermarket operator secures 3.5 billion pounds to buy Asda
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
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J Sainsbury Plc showed why it’s so eager to lead a consolidation push among the U.K.’s grocers.

Excluding fuel, Sainsbury’s comparable retail sales rose 0.2 percent in the 16 weeks through June 30, the London-based company said Wednesday. That met the average analyst estimate but marked the slowest growth since the company acquired catalog retailer Argos in 2016.