JUSTIN KING, the recently appointed chief executive of J Sainsbury, will tell beleaguered shareholders that he plans to focus on boosting sales — not cutting costs and improving profits.

The move is a reversal of the strategy of his predecessor, Sir Peter Davis, who slashed more than £650m from Sainsbury’s cost base but failed to stem the loss of market share to rivals such as Tesco and Asda.

Davis angered the City with his refusal to concentrate on getting shoppers back into his stores — known as improving the top line.

“Increase sales or we die,” King will tell shareholders in 10 days when he outlines plans to put Sainsbury back on track. He believes the company — from head office to store managers — has become obsessed with costs rather than sales.

The change in strategy is a last throw of the dice for the group, which over the past decade has slipped from being Britain’s largest supermarket to a weak No3.

King’s move comes as bidders, including the private- equity group Permira, continue to circle. Fears are also rising that Sainsbury will have to issue its third profit warning this year.

The retailer is also facing a Financial Services Authority probe after claims, denied by the company, that it selectively briefed an analyst at Merrill Lynch.

King, who is expected to hint that most of the £3 billion spent on new infrastructure during Davis’s reign actually destroyed value, has ruled out a widespread sale and leaseback programme to exploit the group’s valuable property portfolio.

He has also dismissed plans to sell the largest stores to rivals to concentrate on smaller stores in its southeast heartland.

The former Asda and Marks & Spencer director will also admit that the quality of Sainsbury’s food is not good enough and that it has failed to get the basics right. However, King will stress that he has no intention of matching Asda or Tesco prices head-on.

Analysts fear that chairman Philip Hampton is planning to slash the dividend.