Sainsbury Teams Up With Vodafone to Start Mobile-Phone Services

J. Sainsbury Plc (SBRY), the U.K.’s third-largest supermarket chain, plans to start its own mobile-phone service in a joint venture with Vodafone Group Plc. (VOD)

The new service, called Mobile by Sainsbury’s, will start “later this summer” and will allow clients to collect points on the Nectar customer-loyalty program, Sainsbury said in a statement today.

Sainsbury’s larger competitors, Tesco Plc (TSCO) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT)’s Asda, have their own mobile-phone services, with Tesco starting its offering 10 years ago. Supermarket chains are starting more digital and mobile-phone services to hold on to business as shoppers increasingly make purchases online.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gabi Thesing in London at gthesing@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net