Sainsbury’s reports festive retail sales dip

Like-for-like retail sales at Sainsbury’s slipped by 1.1% during the Christmas trading period. The supermarket giant, which also owns Argos, posted a 0.4% increase in grocery sales for the 15 weeks to 5 January 2019. General merchandise sales decreased by 2.3%, while clothing reduced by 0.2%. The supermarket said: “Argos outperformed a weak general merchandise market in the quarter, with strong sales growth in the key Christmas weeks. “Over the quarter, sales were impacted by a combination of cautious customer spending and our decision to reduce promotional activity across Black Friday.” Mike Coupe, group chief executive of J Sainsbury, added: “Retail markets are highly competitive and very promotional and the consumer outlook continues to be uncertain. However, we are well placed to navigate the external environment and remain focused on delivering our strategy.”  To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette