Sainsbury’s reports flat Q3 sales although Argos sales rise by 4%
Sainsbury’s saw its like-for-like sales edge up 0.1% excluding fuel in its third quarter which covers the busy Christmas trading period. Like-for-like sales at its Argos chain rose by 4%.
The company said Sainsbury’s supermarkets had a record Christmas week with over 30 million customer transactions.
The supermarket achieved strong growth across non-food categories in the 15 weeks to 7 January with clothing sales and general merchandise sales up 10% and 3% respectively.
Argos had a strong online performance over the key Black Friday period, with 65% of sales taken online and a quarter of a million Fast Track deliveries over that weekend. Over the third quarter, online sales grew by 13% and accounted for 57% of Argos sales.
There are now 30 Argos digital stores and three Habitat stores in Sainsbury’s supermarkets and over 200 digital in-store collection points where customers can collect their Tu clothing, eBay purchases and DPD parcels.
Looking ahead Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe said: “The market remains very competitive and the impact of the devaluation of sterling remains uncertain. However, we are well placed to navigate the external environment and remain focused on delivering our strategy.”
Sainsbury’s said its customers paid 14% less for a typical Christmas basket at the supermarket than they did two years ago.
