London — British supermarket group Sainsbury’s cautioned on Wednesday that the market for general merchandise and clothing would be tough in 2018, taking the shine off a slight upgrade to its forecast for annual profit. With Britons under pressure from slow wage growth compounded by higher inflation, company updates and survey data in January show they cut back on almost everything other than food purchases in the run-up to Christmas. Sainsbury’s, which extended its product range when it bought toys and electricals retailer Argos for £1.1bn in 2016, indicated that trend would continue in 2018. "We have to acknowledge the fact that the [nonfood] market is challenging and there’s certainly a little bit of a squeeze on consumer disposable income; where people are able to defer purchases they do," CE Mike Coupe said. "We have to be slightly cautious in our outlook because it’s reflective of the current consumer environment." Sainsbury’s, the second-biggest UK supermarket group, said its...
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