Waitrose has announced like-for-like sales growth of 3.4 per cent in its annual results.
The upmarket retailer says that a renewed commitment to lower prices and high quality produce helped to increase its market share from 4.7 to 4.9 percentage points, with the strongest growth occurring in the fourth quarter.
The results also reveal positives for Waitrose' online business with online grocery sales rising by 49 per cent, while operating profit for the year was up 12.2 per cent to £292.3m (€337m).
Charlie Mayfield, chairman of John Lewis Partnership, expects sales to rise further this year and says like-for-like sales were up 6.4 per cent for the first five weeks of 2013.
'Behind the scenes, there’s a quiet revolution underway in our supply chain, IT and support functions; our investment in these areas is up substantially and that commitment continues into 2013,' said Mayfield.
Meanwhile, eight Little Waitrose convenience branches and 11 new core shops were opened during the year, which together with one closure, brings the total Waitrose estate to 290 branches.
