Sainsbury’s to sell vinyl records in 171 UK stores

The supermarket will sell LPs for the first time since the 1980s

Tesco became the first UK supermarket chain to reintroduce LPs to its stores last year (Rex)

Sainsbury’s has announced it’s going to be selling vinyl albums from Monday March 21.

The supermarket will sell LPs for the first time since the 1980s following the success of Adele’s 25 which sold over 300,000 in the retailer’s stores.

The range will include current hits and classics including the Beatles, Nirvana and Adele with prices starting at £12.

Pete Selby, Sainsbury’s head of music and books told MusicWeek that there is an “enduring love” for this format among music fans.

“We don’t see this as a novelty gifting fad but a complimentary part of our existing music offer with a long term future in our stores. Vinyl is definitely experiencing a revival with demand growing stronger year on year. It is our aim to make the vinyl experience easy and pleasurable for our customers who are ready to re-engage with a format that resonates with them on an emotional level,” he said.

Tesco became the first UK supermarket chain to reintroduce LPs to its stores last year.

Vinyl sales reached a 20 year high in 2014 in the UK at 1.29 million, following seven years of unbroken growth, according to the Official Charts Company.

“The diverse nature of CD sales at Sainsbury’s – from bestselling chart lines to more specialist catalogue - has given us the confidence that our customers not only choose us as a destination for New Release albums but are also open to recommendation and discovery in store. The vinyl offer reflects this” Sean Cowland, Music Buyer told Music Week.