Australian supermarket giant’s Woolworths has seen food sales grow 2.1 per cent in the first quarter of the 2015 financial year, less than half of the sales growth posted by rival Coles in the same period.
The slow growth saw Woolworth’s shares fall 5 per cent, amounting to a loss of A$2.2bn from the supermarket’s value, according to the Australian.
Woolworths CEO Grant O-Brien told the national daily that he was confident that sales would improve over the Christmas quarter and that Woolworth’s was still on track to see a 4-7 per cent net-profit growth.
“Our sales were below expectations and we didn’t deliver the consistency in growth we’d been looking for,” O’Brien said. “While first-quarter sales were lower than expected, we are confident that our trading plans will improve momentum in the second quarter, which includes the key Christmas period.’’
Coles has now outstripped Woolworths in sales for 21 consecutive quarters.
