Justin King, chief executive of Britain's third-largest grocer J Sainsbury Plc, is likely to adopt a "kitchen sink" approach to turning his ailing charge around when he presents his business review on Tuesday.

Bleeding market share to rivals and reeling from an exodus of top managers, Sainsbury was forced on Monday to downgrade its profit guidance for the first half to between £125 million and £135 million - almost two-thirds below last year.

Analysts now expect Mr King to unveil radical reforms to the way the company does business, with a thorough revamp of the supply chain and perhaps even reduced emphasis on non-food, even though that segment offers the best growth potential in retail.

In 1994, the company was still the nation's leading supermarket group, trading for years on the slogan that "Good Food Costs Less At Sainsbury's." Ten years and four chief executives later, things have changed a little.

The wholesome family image fell victim to the more in-your-face "every day low price" message of current market leaders Tesco and Wal-Mart's Asda, and Sainsbury is now languishing in third place.

"We do not believe that Justin King has any option but to take the most direct and aggressive action that is necessary to reignite Sainsbury's sales growth," Morgan Stanley analyst Ben Britz said in a research note.

"Within this, the two areas that need the most attention - the supply chain and the 'offer' (product range) - cannot be fixed easily or quickly," he noted.

Sainsbury's warehousing and distribution system - the three billion-pound brainchild of the most recently deposed Chief Executive Peter Davis - has spectacularly failed to deliver the goods, in more ways than one.