10th Jun 2015 06:22
LONDON (Alliance News) - J Sainsbury PLC Wednesday reported a drop in retail sales in the first quarter of its financial year as it continues to be hit by food-price deflation amid a highly competitive UK grocery market.
Sainsbury's said that total retail sales in the 12 weeks to June 6 were down 0.6% excluding fuel, or 2.3% including fuel on the same period the year before, while like-for-like retail revenue was down 2.1% excluding fuel, or 3.7% including fuel.
The big-four UK supermarket said that the pressures of food-price deflation, as well as its own targeted price investment, have continued to hit like-for-like sales.
However, Chief Executive Mike Coupe said that he is "encouraged by some of the early trends that we are seeing in our key trading and operational metrics", as volume and transactions continue to grow.
Sainsbury's added that its Travel Money division grew strongly in the quarter, at over 40% year-on-year, while clothing delivered sales growth of over 5%. Groceries online also had a record week in the quarter with 256,000 orders, while the convenience store business remains in double-digit growth, it said.
"Despite the challenging market conditions, we are confident that we are building on strong foundations and making good progress with our strategy. We continue to invest in our broad range of products and services and our multiple channels to market. These areas represent strong future growth opportunities and contribute towards our resilience in the current trading environment," Coupe said in a statement.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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