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Sainsbury's reports "best Christmas ever"
Like-for-like sales at Sainsbury's rose by 2.1% in the 14 weeks to January, helping the supermarket giant towards a record-breaking Christmas.
Britain's second largest supermarket said they had experienced their "best Christmas ever" despite the gloomy economic backdrop.
In a third quarter trading statement, published on 11 January 2012, Sainsbury's reported 26 million customer transactions in the Christmas week, 1.5 million more than the previous year.
Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King said: "This was a record-breaking Christmas, with our biggest ever week, day and hour for sales. Taste the Difference (TtD) grew by over ten per cent in the quarter. We sold over £2 million worth of TtD Norfolk Black Free Range turkeys and almost 50,000 of the new TtD Kirsch Cherry Filled Christmas Pudding. basics also grew strongly, especially staple ingredients. For example, sales of basics unsalted butter increased by 82 per cent and basics dried fruits were up 30 per cent, reflecting the growth in home baking".
King added: "Sainsbury‟s multi-format, multi-channel offer enables customers to shop how they choose, when they choose. Groceries online grew at almost 20 per cent and we delivered a record 160,000 orders per week over the Christmas period, with our best-ever availability and customer service. Christmas week was our strongest for 'Click and Collect', with last-minute shoppers able to order online and pick up in one of 870 stores the next day. Almost 75 per cent of online general merchandise orders at Christmas used 'Click and Collect'.
"Consistent with trends over the past year, we expect customers to spend cautiously in 2012, particularly in the first few months as they tighten their belts post Christmas. Although the short term remains challenging, key events later in the year, such as the Queen‟s Diamond Jubilee and London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, provide opportunities for growth. We will continue to invest in our offer to support our customers through these difficult times.”