Mark Ritson: Asda and Sainsbury’s must balance unity with differentiation to make their merger work

Mike Coupe, the chief executive of Sainsbury’s, is not a frivolous man. If anything, the University of Birmingham-educated boss could even be described as a quite serious figure. So when he was captured quietly singing ‘We’re in the Money’ while waiting for his interview with ITV News to commence this week, you know he is probably onto something.
The revelation that Sainsbury’s and Asda intend to merge was met with initial scepticism that a deal of this magnitude wo