Report on the Company's operations for the year ending March 1972

Video produced to inform Sainsbury's staff about developments in the company during the 1971-1972 financial year. The video begins (00:35) with a introduction from chairman John Davan Sainsbury, in which he explains the purpose of the video: to help all interested staff understand the details of Sainsbury's progress, policy and plans for the future. This is followed (01:45) by a video recording of a meeting held at the Mermaid Theatre (near Sainsbury's Blackfriars head office) on 5 June 1972 attended by the chairman, directors and "middle management" staff. This recording continues for the remainder of the video. See 'JS Journal' August 1972, pp.11-14, for more information about the meeting and how the video recording was used. Along with the recording a six-page summary of the annual results was distributed to all staff, which the chairman refers to in his introduction (see SA/SC/2/2). The recording of the meeting includes: 01:45: Footage of audience (brief shots of the audience are also included throughout). 01:52: Presentation by the chairman in which he reviews Sainsbury's performance in the financial year 1971-1972. The slides shown to the audience appear onscreen, relating to turnover compared to food prices and growth of national grocery trade, numbers of shops by type, operating costs, profit, supermarket openings by sales area, capital expenditure and sources of finance. The chairman also mentions competition from Asda and hypermarkets such as Carrefour. 33:58: Questions from the audience relating to working capital, return per square foot, Cory's [haulier contracted by Sainsbury's], geographical extension of Sainsbury's trading area, and meeting the need for increased volume in depots. The questions are answered by deputy chairman Simon Sainsbury, the chairman, director responsible for distribution Gurth Hoyer Millar, and director responsible for estates, architects and engineers Timothy Sainsbury. 41:44: Closing remarks by the chairman. Duration: 43 minutes (excluding 35 seconds of countdown clock at start). The video is preceded by a countdown clock with "Television International London" logo and fields reading "Title: Sainsbury's Conference Intro", "Section: [drawing of a banana]", "VTR No.: [blank]", "Take: 1" and "Date: 1/6/72". This information seemingly relates to the recording of the chairman's introduction, not the meeting. A voiceover says "Sainsbury's Conference Intro, Take 1".