Sainsbury's ends Argos sale talks with JD.com

Sainsbury's has announced it has ended discussions with JD.com regarding a potential sale of its Argos business. The decision comes after the Chinese e-commerce giant proposed "materially revised" terms and commitments that Sainsbury's concluded were not in the best interests of its shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders.

Argos, which is the UK's second-largest general merchandise retailer, has been performing in line with expectations, with strong sales over the summer. The company's "More Argos, more often" transformation strategy is reportedly making good progress. This strategy focuses on expanding product range, enhancing digital capabilities, and improving relevance to increase customer visits and spending, all while improving operational efficiency.

Despite the terminated talks, Sainsbury's remains confident in its overall performance and is committed to its "Next Level" strategy. The company is still on track to achieve its financial targets for the 2025/26 financial year, which include a retail underlying operating profit of around 1 billion pounds and a retail free cash flow of over 500 million pounds.