Supermarket Waitrose has continued to outperform the ‘big five’ retailers, posting a seven percent increase in total sales over the crucial Christmas trading period.
For the five weeks ending Saturday 3 January 2015, total sales (excluding fuel) were £728 million – up by 7.0 per cent on the equivalent period last year. The company reported that like-for-like sales increased by 2.8 per cent.
Managing Director of Waitrose Mark Price commented, “This strong sales performance in a tough trading environment is a tribute to all our Partners who work so hard to give the high quality products and outstanding service that customers want all year round and especially at Christmas.
“As a business owned by the people who work here, we can take the long-term view and our Christmas results show the effectiveness of our strategy of investing in good value, in making our shops attractive destinations and in building our online business.”
The company which has 334 stores also reported a 26 per cent increase in online sales via Waitrose.com. Sales of wine, flowers and hampers via the website rose by 39 per cent.
