Sainsbury’s has said it is seeing the “biggest market share gains of any grocer” as more and more customers are shopping with the supermarket giant.
In the 16 weeks to June 22, sales at Sainsbury’s grew 4.2% against a growth of 9.9% year on year, sustaining its second year of volume growth.
Grocery sales grew 4.8% compared with a growth of 11% in the first quarter last year, while general merchandise and clothing sales declined 4.3%, which Sainsbury’s said reflects “improvement in clothing trend offset by weaker seasonal general merchandise sales”.
Like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, rose 2.7%, while sales at Argos in the UK fell 6.2% due to “significantly lower seasonal sales” and a “weaker consumer electronics demand”.
Sainsburys said 98% of big baskets now include Nectar Prices or Aldi Price Match products and Taste the Difference remains its fastest growing brand as sales increased 14% in the first quarter.
The retailer added that it is making progress with its More Argos transformation strategy, reshaping its core commercial and digital proposition, and enhancing its digital offer to include more popular premium brands.
Sainsburys continues to forecast underlying profit of between £1.01bn and £1.06bn for the coming financial year.
‘Market-beating’ progress
Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts said: “We are pleased with our market-beating grocery performance and the early progress we’re making against our Next Level Sainsbury’s plan.
“We’ve been winning from competitors every month for 15 months, as more and more people are choosing Sainsbury’s for their big weekly shop.
“We are laser focused on delivering the best combination of value and quality in the market and our customers are recognising that with 98% of big baskets including Nectar Prices or Aldi Price Match.
“Innovation continues to be a top priority and we launched 400 new products this quarter, almost half of which were Taste the Difference, which continues to outperform a strong premium market.
“Our summer ranges are the perfect complement to this Summer of Sport and we’re gearing up for Wimbledon this week and England’s quarter final match on Saturday night.
“Our food business is going from strength to strength and I would like to thank all of my colleagues and our suppliers and farmers for the brilliant job they are doing every day to deliver for all our customers.”
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