Sainsbury’s unveils rise in Christmas sales
Sainsbury’s saw a record number of customers over the Christmas period, as it reported a small rise in sales over its third quarter.
In a trading statement this morning, the supermarket posted an increase of 3.9 per cent in total sales over the 14 weeks to 5 January, while sales at stores open longer than a year were up 1.5 per cent.
The results follow rival supermarket Morrison’s earlier this week, which reported a 2.5 per cent slump in like for like sales over the Christmas period.
Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King this morning said that the week before Christmas marked the strongest trading week on record, with customer transactions exceeding 27m.
He added that the period was a strong one for the supermarket’s own-brand products, and sales of own-brand champagne and prosecco had grown at 15 per cent year on year.