Sainsbury's Takes Tesco To High Court In Price Comparison Spat

Supermarket J Sainsbury will take its spat over price comparisons with Tesco to Britain's high court, challenging a ruling by the advertising watchdog in favor of its rival.   Britain's supermarkets are battling intensely for market share in tough economic conditions, where advertising is a major battleground.   Earlier this year, Sainsbury's complained to the Advertising Standards Authority over market leader Tesco's "Price Promise" scheme.   Sainsbury's says its rival's campaign misleads consumers by ignoring crucial differences between some of the supermarkets' own-brand products.   But Tesco says it is offering "the kind of help customers want".   The Tesco promotion compares the price of goods its customers buy and refunds the difference in the form of a voucher if comparable goods are cheaper in a rival supermarket.   But Sainsbury's argues that the Tesco promotion fails to take into account differences between Tesco and Sainsbury's own-brand products when making comparisons, and is misleading customers.   For example, it says Tesco compares its Everyday Value tea with Sainsbury's Basics tea, despite the fact that Sainsbury's tea is fair trade, while Tesco's is not.   Sainsbury's runs its own price comparison promotion, but only on branded products.   The ASA said in July that the Tesco campaign did not break its rules, and Sainsbury's also lost a subsequent appeal.   Tesco's marketing director David Wood responded that Sainsbury's complaints had been heard and rejected twice already.