Supermarket Sainsbury has reported a rise in total sales of 5.7% (5.3% excluding petrol) for the 12 weeks to 18 June 2005.
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Like-for-like sales, were up 1.9% (1.3% excluding petrol).
“We are encouraged by our trading performance in the first quarter of this financial year which shows sustained underlying sales growth,” said Justin King, chief executive. “Given the more difficult and competitive grocery retail market over the past three months, like-for-like sales of 1.3% represents continued progress. We are also pleased that independent industry measures now show our market share is growing.”
“We have seen further progress in restoring the appeal of our brand and customers continue to react positively to the changes they see in our stores,” he said. “Supermarket deflation has continued, albeit at a lower level than we saw in the fourth quarter of last year.”
“We have now been investing in lowering our prices for just over a year,” he said. “At the same time we have enhanced product quality and significantly improved availability as we strengthen the Sainsbury’s brand and rebuild our traditional areas of competitive advantage. Customers are increasingly seeing the benefit of our better availability as we improve the in-store experience.”
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By GlobalData“In particular our focus on fresh and healthy food has been communicated through our recent advertising campaign and the ongoing success of our Active Kids programme,” he said. “The latter is a great example of how customers have readily re-engaged with Sainsbury’s as they see improvements and identify with the values that are integral to our brand. We now have over 25,000 UK schools registered in the programme. In addition, we have announced today that we have been chosen by Comic Relief to be the key sponsor of the biennial Red Nose Day and Sport Relief campaigns. This is part of a new six year deal which starts with Sport Relief in July 2006 and runs until 2011. We are delighted we have been able to make a long-term commitment to Comic Relief and we are particularly pleased to be linking up with Sport Relief. Alongside our Active Kids programme, it is well suited to our commitment to promote a healthier lifestyle for customers and colleagues and support local communities.”
“We are implementing the plans outlined in October 2004 and our progress is encouraging,” he said. “While we expect the market to remain highly competitive we will keep doing the right thing for our customers. This is the most effective way to continue our progress in making Sainsbury’s great again.”
