‘We’re in the Money’: Sainsbury’s CEO filmed singing after Asda deal
LONDON: The chief executive of Sainsbury’s was filmed singing ‘We’re in the Money’ hours after announcing that the supermarket he runs would buy rival Asda, boosting his company’s value by 860 million pounds (US$1.18 billion).
CEO Mike Coupe was waiting in a studio when cameras caught him singing the song from the musical 42nd Street in footage that was later released by British broadcaster ITV.
“We’re in the money, the sky is sunny. Let’s lend it, spend it, send it rolling along,” he sings before sipping his coffee.
The Asda deal has already made Coupe significantly richer, with his 1.28 million shares going up in value by 500,000 pounds following the announcement.
Coupe apologised, saying he was sorry if anyone was offended.
“This was an unguarded moment trying to compose myself before a TV interview. It was an unfortunate choice of song, from the musical 42nd Street which I saw last year,” he said in a statement emailed by Sainsbury’s.
Sainsbury’s said on Monday it would buy Asda, owned by Walmart for around 7.3 billion pounds, in a bold attempt to overtake long-time leader Tesco as Britain’s biggest supermarket group by market share.
Sainsbury’s and Asda, the two British supermarkets planning to merge, had the slowest sales of the ‘big four’ chains in the 12 weeks to April 22, market data showed on Tuesday.
Sales at number two ranked Sainsbury’s rose 0.2 per cent, while Asda, owned by Walmart, saw growth of 1.4 per cent, Kantar Worldpanel said.
Current market leader Tesco had growth of 2.1 per cent while sales at Morrisons were up 2.2 per cent.
In Britain’s fast-changing retail landscape, Sainsbury’s previously bought catalogue retailer Argos in 2016 for £1.4 billion.
In March, Tesco completed the purchase of wholesaler Booker – Britain’s biggest cash-and-carry operator – for £3.7 billion.
At the same time, Amazon has ramped up its ‘Fresh’ delivery service in Britain, amid speculation that it could decide to buy a UK supermarket group. — Reuters