By Jorn Madslien BBC News business reporter

Can the fresh-faced 43-year-old help Sainsbury's bounce back?

J Sainsbury's chief executive, Justin King, has been given one of the toughest jobs in British retailing - turning around the troubled supermarket chain. The outcome could make or break both him and his company.

Officially, Mr King has kept a low profile since he was appointed chief executive on 29 March this year.

The fresh-faced 43-year-old has routinely declined interview requests from journalists and he has only spoken openly to the financial markets when forced to do so.

And so far, Mr King has remained tight-lipped about any strategy he might have for reviving the Sainsbury's supermarket chain.

Game plan

But on Tuesday this week, in his first major public appearance, Mr King will face the world and unveil his action plan.

Much of what he will say is known already.

Profit predictions for 2004 have fallen throughout the year as analysts have digested facts January: �600m March: �510m July: �410m October: �200m-300m

This is partly due to last week's profit warning, the company's third this year.

Mr King was forced to admit that Sainsbury's profits fell to around �130m in the six months ending 9 October from �366m during the same period last year.

But it is also thanks to Sainsbury's tireless grooming of both journalists and analysts ahead of Tuesday's public declaration. Behind the scenes, Mr King has been busy making his mark.

Credibility

Sainsbury's intention of smoothing the rocky path ahead for Mr King is understandable.

Times were less tough for Mr King when he worked at Marks & Spencer

Sadly, both for him and Sainsbury's shareholders, it has not always had the desired effect.

One of the company's briefings for analysts sparked controversy earlier this month.

The Financial Services Authority said it would investigate the tete-a-tete with a Merrill Lynch analyst because of concerns that it was in breach of the stock exchange rules.

The probe has come at a bad time for Mr King, especially as it makes it harder for him to build a credible image for himself and the management team he has put together during the past few months.

Predators

The challenge facing the team is a large one.

Sainsbury's has been suffering for years; in fact, it has recently come to light that it has failed to grow in real terms during any of the last 20 years.

Its competitors, meanwhile, have stormed ahead and the supermarket landscape is full of hungry predators keen to eat further into Sainsbury's dwindling market share.

And Mr King's firm seems too weak to take on most of them.

Upmarket Marks & Spencer and Waitrose are well beyond reach, while market leaders Asda and Tesco are roaring ahead, bolstered by their foray into non-food retailing.

Tasks ahead

Sainsbury's is expected to aim for a narrow niche somewhere in the middle.

Customers still visit Sainsbury's but they spend too little cash

Apparently, the customers are there. But while they may be visiting Sainsbury's stores, they do not seem to be buying all their goods from one retailer.

Sainsbury's is expected to cut prices, in particular on basic bulk items like toilet paper and soft drinks, in the hope of convincing shoppers to leave behind more cash on each visit.

However, the price discounts may have to be funded by dividend cuts, a move that would hurt the founding Sainsbury family which owns just over a third of the firm's shares.

Mr King is also expected to revamp Sainsbury's distribution chain to make sure customers are presented with a more consistent offering whenever they visit the stores.

And he may well push ahead with a limited foray into the non-food market by offering more DVDs, baby wear and toasters - though on a much smaller scale than some of its competitors because Sainsbury's stores tend to be smaller.

Track record

Beyond pointing out what is wrong with Sainsbury's at the moment, a core part of Mr King's presentation on Tuesday is expected to aim at strengthening links and trust with investors.

He is expected to do this by highlighting both his team's and his own track record.

Mr King is old beyond his years in terms of retail experience and he has worked at both more and less upmarket supermarkets than Sainsbury's.

Until last winter, Mr King was director of food at Marks & Spencer; before then he was Asda Hypermarkets' retail managing director.