Investors dumped their Sainsbury's shares after group chief executive Sir Peter Davis this week failed to deliver the detailed strategy for reviving its supermarket business many had been expecting. Revealing the company's full year results, Sir Peter said revitalising the chain would take three or four years and would be done by "concentrating on the things we're good at ­ quality, service and value". Sainsbury needed to "regain the quality lead we had by focusing on fresh food, high standards, range and price", he said. The retailer announced a 23% drop in pretax profit to £580m. Its supermarkets business saw operating profit fall 29% to £522m on sales up just 1.8% at £13.3bn. The City had expected the figures to be dire, but investors had hoped for evidence that Sir Peter planned a quick turnaround of the business. The lack of good news led to an 11% single-day fall in the share price to 305p. Société Générale analyst Mike Dennis said Sainsbury needed serious investment in its processes, stores and IT systems. But he felt three to four years was too long for the City. "I don't think people had realised the magnitude of the task and expected a quick solution," Dennis said. But another analyst was impressed by Sir Peter's pragmatic approach, saying: "People expected him to wave a magic wand, but he's put a dose of realism into the market. The share price fall has come about because of a realisation that it will take six to eight months to recover." A big e-commerce drive was the most dynamic part of Sainsbury's plans, with a decision to use stores and small picking centres instead of waiting for big distribution centres to be built. More radical moves, such as the sale of Shaw's supermarkets in the US, have not been made. But Sir Peter did not rule it out. Sainsbury was aiming to be the country's favourite supermarket and the best for food, rather than the biggest, said Sir Peter. But he admitted: "Even that's a long way off." A new ad campaign is being considered, but he said the best way to improve customer perception is an improved instore experience. {{NEWS }}

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