History of Sainsburys Essays

History of Sainsburys Essays History of Sainsburys Essay History of Sainsburys Essay John James and Mary Ann Sainsbury were the two that founded the renowned company in 1869. The first store to be opened was opened at Drury Lane, London this store offered dairy products. Drury Lane was one of Londons poorest areas and the Sainsburys shop quickly became popular for offering high-quality products at low prices. The low prices were due to the fact of scale of economy. The business was so successful that several branches were opened in other market streets including Stepney, Islington and Kentish Town. On the road to their success Sainsburys faced various challenges. Some obvious challenges like competition with rival retailers such as Liptons. John James found it necessary to step up his rate of expansion so that he could buy goods as competitively as these companies. Between 1890 and 1900 the number of Sainsburys branches trebled from 16 to 48. Sainsburys was still owned by the founders when it entered its second century. However, it had reached a scale and stature that warranted public status. The companys public flotation in 1973 was at the time the largest ever flotation on the Stock Exchange, with a 45-fold oversubscription for shares. Presently Sainsbury is owned by many people and the supermarket employs over 14500 people to work for them, of the 145000 60% is part time jobs and the rest 40% is full time jobs. A large Sainsburys Supermarket offers over 23,000 products 40% of these are Sainsburys own brand. In addition to a wide range of quality food and grocery products, many stores offer bread baked on the premises, delicatessen, meat and fish counters, pharmacies, coffee shops, restaurants and petrol stations. Share prices As eWave is a Plc. The shares can be bought and sold on the stock exchange this is why it is called a Plc. Share prices can go up and down Figure 2 is the share prices over a period of one year. You can see how the shares changed. At points the prices were expensive and vice versa. All in all I believe that over this period of time the prices have increase which implies that Sainsburys have been doing well. Why do share prices change? As seen on figure 2 the share prices of Sainsburys have changed. The prices of shares are very unpredictable. It is unpredictable because when too many shares are sold at once the share price becomes very cheap and people tend to buy lots of it. However when the business is doing well the shares are very expensive. The reason why share change is because when shares start to be sold this is maybe the business is not doing well and is the reason why the owners want to sell their share. Due to this reason the shares fall in price. In the other hand when prices goes up it could be down to the fact that the business is doing will and the owners want to keep their stake in the firm. When the business is not doing well the share prices tend to be at its lowest to persuade customers to buy the shares. However when the business is making a lot of money than the share prices increase. Figure 3- The change of shares on a single day Figure 3 shows the change of share prices of the firm Sainsburys on the date 1st march 2007. At the time 8. 00 clock the prices of the shares is low mainly for the reason that people have just woken up and the demand is not very high. As time goes on the prices start to increase this is because the shares start to be sold and bought moreover the shares are on demand. Major share holders of Sainsburys Like any other Plc, there are many shareholders. These shareholders are in thousands. The focal shareholder of Sainsburys includes the Sainsburys family of whom own 13% of the business, the Brandes investments partners L. L. C. who then own 11%. Another major shareholder was Legal and General Group plc who held a share of 3%. In 2002 private individuals held just over 42% of Sainsburys shares; banks and nominees held over 56% of shares; pension funds, insurance companies and investment trusts held less than 2% of shares. Why buy shares? Buying shares is a superb way of investing money. However many people do not realise this positive aspect of buying shares. There are many advantages of possessing shares below I have stated them. Advantages such as; At the end of the year you receive a dividend . You could sell your share when prices are high making profits. Â  If you keep on buying share you could eventually be in control of the firm . If in any the company falls in debt you will not loose any excess money Receive a dividend The company makes money and at the end of the year a share of that price will be received by the shareholders. Moreover the more money the firm makes the more money the shareholder will receive. The more shares a person owns the more dividend the person will get. Sell your share when prices are high making profits As you might know share prices change. They change very often. This why when share prices are high the holder can sell their share making money. This is another great way of making money without much work. Will not loose any excess money You cannot guarantee that the business you invested in will make a profit. This is why when you invest in a Plc if the business falls in debt or is not successful of get bankrupt the share holder will only loose the that he or she invested. Liabilities Like I have mentioned above in large businesses like Sainsburys all shareholders will benefit from limited liability for debts incurred. This means that, should the business get into difficulties financially, the shareholders would only stand to lose what they originally invested; this is a major advantage for Sainsburys as it would help to attract more investors in the future because they know that not all their life savings will be taken.