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Second Quarter Trading Statement for 16 weeks to 1 October 2011

Sainsbury

5 October 2011

Good sales performance in a challenging market

Total sales for second quarter up 7.8 per cent (4.4 per cent excluding fuel)
Like-for-like sales for second quarter up 5.4 per cent (1.9 per cent excluding fuel)
Total sales for first half up 7.6 per cent (4.3 per cent excluding fuel)
Like-for-like sales for first half up 5.1 per cent (1.9 per cent excluding fuel)
Good sales performance in a challenging market
Justin King, Chief Executive, said: "We have
delivered a good sales performance in a tough consumer environment.
Total sales for the quarter were up 7.8 per cent, with
like-for-like sales up 5.4 per cent. Excluding fuel, total sales
for the quarter were up 4.4 per cent, with like-for-like sales up
1.9 per cent and  two-year like-for-like growth of 4.7 per
cent.
"This quarter we launched 'Live Well For Less',
which re-affirms our commitment to providing customers with
fantastic quality products at great prices. The re-launch of our
'by Sainsbury's' range is well under way, with over
3,000 new or improved lines already in
store. 'by Sainsbury's' offers customers
the same or better quality as the branded equivalent at prices
typically at least 20 per cent lower, with no compromise on the
values our customers trust. Our innovative new products such
as our Mexican ready-meal range are proving extremely
popular. At the same time, our premium 'Taste the Difference'
range, which we re-launched last year, and our economy 'basics'
range both saw strong growth.
"Fuel prices continue to impact customers' disposable income and
put pressure on household budgets. Our market-leading petrol
offers, combined with strong promotions and competitive pricing on
branded goods, ensure our customers can enjoy great value without
compromising on the high quality Sainsbury's fresh food and own
label products they love. Through 'Live Well For Less' we are
demonstrating to customers that they need look no further than
Sainsbury's to solve the challenges of their grocery shopping.
"Our general merchandise and clothing
businesses continued to grow strongly in the quarter, with sales
growth well ahead of the grocery business. Our July home event was
our biggest ever, with customers snapping up our great
value TU cookshop and tableware products and our
better than half price "bed-in-a-bag". Back-to-school sales were up
almost 40 per cent on last year; in our peak week we sold over
100,000 pairs of trousers and 70,000 packs of polo shirts. And
tomorrow Gok Wan launches his debut womenswear collection in over
200 stores. There are 13 styles, with prices starting from just
£20. This is the first of a number of collections Gok is creating
exclusively for Sainsbury's under the Gok
for TU brand.
"Reflecting the trend for local shopping,
our convenience business continued to
grow at 20 per cent, with like-for-like growth ahead of
supermarkets. We opened our 400th convenience store, at
Wolverhampton. This was one of 24 new convenience stores
opened in the quarter, bringing the total for the half to 37 and
delivering our target of one to two openings per week. We opened
four new supermarkets and completed 12 extensions, adding 390,000
square feet of gross new space in the quarter and creating over
1,500 new jobs. We continued our strategy of bringing the
Sainsbury's brand into new markets, and opened our most northerly
supermarket, in Nairn, Scotland, on the same day as a new
supermarket 600 miles away in Dawlish, Devon.
"We are delighted that the efforts we make to deliver great
value and service to our customers were recognised at
the 2011 Retail Industry Awards. For the
fourth time in six years we were awarded Supermarket of the Year,
and we were named Convenience Retailer of the Year for the second
year running. Our colleagues have a great deal to be proud of and
we continue to invest in skills to ensure our continued
success.
"We expect the market environment to remain very competitive for
the foreseeable future but we are confident in our ability to grow
by doing a great job for our customers. Through our unique
combination of high quality own label ranges and commitment to
delivering value we will continue to help our customers 'Live Well
For Less'."
Notes