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| Sainsbury's reports rise in festive sales | Sainsbury's reports rise in festive sales |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Sainsbury's has reported a small rise in sales over the key Christmas and New Year period, saying its customer numbers hit a new all-time high. | Sainsbury's has reported a small rise in sales over the key Christmas and New Year period, saying its customer numbers hit a new all-time high. |
| The supermarket group's like-for-like sales excluding fuel increased by 0.9% in the 14 weeks to 5 January, compared with a year earlier. | The supermarket group's like-for-like sales excluding fuel increased by 0.9% in the 14 weeks to 5 January, compared with a year earlier. |
| The trading update comes two days after rival Morrisons reported a drop in sales over the Christmas period. | The trading update comes two days after rival Morrisons reported a drop in sales over the Christmas period. |
| Tesco is due to release its Christmas sales data on Thursday. | Tesco is due to release its Christmas sales data on Thursday. |
| 'Cautious spending' | |
| A report on Tuesday by market research group Kantar Worldpanel said that Sainsbury's was the only one of the so-called "big four" UK supermarket groups to increase its market share in the run up to Christmas. | A report on Tuesday by market research group Kantar Worldpanel said that Sainsbury's was the only one of the so-called "big four" UK supermarket groups to increase its market share in the run up to Christmas. |
| Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King said the company had delivered "another quarter of good sales in a challenging retail environment". | Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King said the company had delivered "another quarter of good sales in a challenging retail environment". |
| Total sales for the 14-week period, which include those contributed by new store space, were 3.3% higher than a year earlier. | Total sales for the 14-week period, which include those contributed by new store space, were 3.3% higher than a year earlier. |
| Mr King added that in the week before Christmas, Sainsbury's had enjoyed its strongest trading performance on record. | Mr King added that in the week before Christmas, Sainsbury's had enjoyed its strongest trading performance on record. |
| During the 14 weeks Sainsbury's opened six new supermarkets and 19 new convenience stores. It said it now had 500 convenience stores across the UK. | |
| Looking ahead, Mr King said Sainsbury's remained cautious. | |
| "We expect the challenging economic backdrop to persist, with customers looking to re-balance their household budget after the festivities, and so spending cautiously in the first few months of 2013," he said. | |
| On Monday, Morrisons reported that its like-for-like sales in the six weeks to 30 December were down 2.5% from a year earlier. | |
| It said the figures showed that it needed to improve its promotions, and the importance of online shopping, which it does not offer at the moment. |