Sainsbury’s Q1 sales rise but clothing drops as ‘food first’ plan comes to head

Months after implementing a strategy that placed food back at the forefront of its focus, it appears that the plan is beginning to pay off for Sainsbury’s.

In the supermarket giant’s latest Q1, for the 16 weeks to June 22, 2024, it reported a year-on-year sales growth of 4.2 percent for its own stores, while total retail sales (excluding fuel) were up 2.6 percent.

The company cited strong volume growth among its grocery category as one of the contributing factors for the uptick, particularly in light of slowing inflation in the UK.

Meanwhile, general merchandise and clothing garnered less optimistic results, with YoY sales dropping 4.3 percent. Sainsbury’s said this was reflective of an “improvement in clothing trend offset by weaker seasonal general merchandise sales”.

For FY24/25, the company is continuing to expect an underlying operating profit of between 1,010 million 1,060 million pounds, at a growth of between 5 and 10 percent versus the year prior.

In a release, CEO Simon Roberts said: “We are pleased with our market-beating grocery performance and the early progress we’re making against our Next Level Sainsbury's plan. We’ve been winning from competitors every month for 15 months, as more and more people are choosing Sainsbury's for their big weekly shop.”