Sainsbury's has continued its promising recovery under Justin King, announcing a better-than-expected sales uplift in the important run up to Christmas.
The UK’s number three is still on track to reclaim the number two spot from Asda, with ike-for-like sales rising by 5.2 per cent, excluding fuel, in the 12 weeks to December 31. Same-store sales including fuel rose 4.8 per cent in the quarter.
This is the fourth consecutive positive quarter for the chain, which told the City the results are reflective of the success to date of its recovery plans, which are still in their first year.
Chief executive King said that lowered prices across the store network had played a part in Sainsbury’s fightback, but denied that this was the sole reason for "The customer experience is much improved, but we still need to achieve this at a more acceptable cost," he said.
Interestingly, shares in Sainsbury have outperformed market leader Tesco by 20 per cent during the past year, as the former darling of high street grocery begins to regain its place in City hearts.
Sainsbury's can now lay claim to 16.2 per cent of the grocery market, compared with 15.9 per cent a year ago.
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