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| Sainsbury's sales fall at start of year | Sainsbury's sales fall at start of year |
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| Underlying sales have fallen at Sainsbury's in the first nine weeks of the year, but the newly-acquired Argos reported strong growth. | Underlying sales have fallen at Sainsbury's in the first nine weeks of the year, but the newly-acquired Argos reported strong growth. |
| The supermarket's like-for-like sales, which strip out new stores, fell by 0.5% in the period to 11 March. | The supermarket's like-for-like sales, which strip out new stores, fell by 0.5% in the period to 11 March. |
| However, Argos sales rose 4.3%, resulting in a 0.3% increase excluding fuel across the Sainsbury's group. | |
| Sainsbury's said the market remained "very competitive" and the impact of cost pressures "remains uncertain". | |
| The supermarket's performance was worse than the 0.1% rise in like-for-like sales seen in the 15 weeks to 7 January. | |
| Sainsbury's convenience stores saw total sales growth of almost 7%, with 10 new outlets opening in the quarter. | |
| Mr Coupe said customers welcomed Sainsbury's "differentiated food offer", with new products including butternut squash waffles and sweet potato tagliatelle. | |
| General merchandise sales were down 4%, whcih Sainsbury's said was due to Easter and Mother's Day falling later this year. | |
| Sainsbury's bought catalogue retailer Argos last year as part of its £1.4bn takeover of Home Retail Group. | |
| The retailer has opened another 11 Argos Digital stores in Sainsbury's supermarkets since the start of the year, bringing the total to 41, while there are now eight Mini Habitat stores. |