SAINSBURY'S has set the bar for supermarket trading over Christmas as it became one of the few retailers to report better-than-expected revenues and a record number of sales despite the icy weather.
The group, which has overtaken Asda to become the second-biggest supermarket in the UK, according to reports, delivered 3.6% like-for-like sales growth in the 14 weeks to January 8.
The week running up to Christmas saw transactions hit an all-time high of 24.5 million.
The strong performance, which overshadows rival Morrison’s modest 1% same-store growth, comes at the end of a quarter when the supermarket added a record-breaking 700,000 sq ft of store space and created 6,000 jobs.
The figure, which excludes fuel and includes VAT, will put pressure on industry leader Tesco, which will give its Christmas trading update today.
It follows a mixed run for UK retailers – high street chains HMV, Next and Debenhams all posted a slump in sales over the Christmas period.
The figures follow a resurgent period for the group, which has seen sales growth accelerate throughout 2010.
It is benefiting from an offering which allows consumers to cut down on costs and trade up for luxury items, while aggressive moves to increase space and up the ante on non-food sales have also helped.
Industry figures from researcher Kantar Worldpanel, which are not publicly disclosed but were seen by The Times, show Sainsbury’s became the second-largest supermarket group after its market share rose to 16.6% from 16.3% in the four weeks to December 26. Asda’s share dipped from 16.6% to 16.5%.
