Justin King claims one of the chief reasons Sainsbury's avoided being dragged into the horsemeat scandal last year was its close working relationship with its UK farmer suppliers.The retailer was the only one of the big four grocers not to be caught up in the scandal and chief executive Mr King sees this as payback for his investment in direct supply links with farmers during the past eight years.In the aftermath of the crisis the group's sales jumped while those of Tesco, Asda and Morrisons slumped. However, a year on, Sainsbury's is seeing its lowest growth for nine years and is warning of slower growth ahead. But Mr King is adamant this does not change the relationship with its farmers.
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