Sainsbury's reports record Christmas sales

LONDON, UK: British supermarket chain Sainsbury's on Wednesday, 12 January 2011, said it had enjoyed record Christmas sales, as customers battled snow and freezing temperatures to head to its stores.

"This record Christmas was delivered despite challenging weather conditions and our colleagues worked extremely hard to deliver great service to our customers, serving over 24.5 million customers in the seven days up to and including Christmas Eve," the group said in a statement.

Sainsbury's also gave an update for its third quarter, or 14 weeks to 8 January, saying that total sales were 7.5% compared with the equivalent period one year earlier.

Analysts consensus forecast had been for a rise of 5.5%, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

"Our strategy of providing universal customer appeal through great food at fair prices has helped Sainsbury's to deliver its best-ever Christmas," chief executive Justin King said in the group's trading statement.

Sainsbury's is officially the third-biggest supermarket chain in Britain after Wal-Mart owned Asda and the country's biggest retailer Tesco.

Source: AFP