Sainsbury’s reports ‘good performance’ with total sales up 7.1% | TalkingRetail.com

Sainsbury’s has revealed itsconvenience stores are now a£1bn business, following good sales and profit performance for 52 weeks to 19 March 2011.  

Total sales (including VAT) were up 7.1% to£22.9bn, with total sales (including VAT, ex fuel) up 4.9% with like-for-like sales (including VAT, ex fuel) up 2.3%.

The supermarket outperformed the market in a“challenging environment”, increasing market share, with weekly customer transactions now 21 million, up one million on last year, and over 6,000 jobs created through store investment.

Sainsbury’s has also opened six new food colleges to train over 10,000 colleagues each year, plus it had a successful re-launch of its £1bn ‘Taste the Difference’ brand.

Justin King, chief executive, said:“Sainsbury’s has continued to perform well. Customer numbers are at an all-time high of 21 million transactions every week, which is up one million on last year, a clear indication of our growing universal customer appeal across all channels.

“We have added gross space of 1.5 million sq ft to our store estate, creating over 6,000 new jobs with Sainsbury’s. Strong sales growth, combined with productivity savings and tight control on operating costs, have helped to deliver good profit growth. Our colleagues continue to deliver great service, exceeding our stretching customer service targets, and we are delighted to be paying our colleagues a bonus of around £60m.

“We expect the economic environment to remain uncertain over the coming year. We remain confident that our strategy, alongside continued strong operational performance, will enable the business to make further good progress.”

Source: Sainsbury’s

Source