Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Divisional sales (excluding petrol) climbed by 1.5% last week to January 31 for Waitrose, despite tough comparatives driven by a major promotion in the equivalent week last year.
The supermarket chain’s supply chain director David Jones said: “Looking at the second half of the year that has just ended, our sales were up by 5.7%. This growth comes against a backdrop of unprecedented price deflation in the market, caused by good global harvests bringing down commodity food prices and by price-cutting in the supermarket sector. In this deflationary context we’ve invested to ensure we continue to offer our customers competitive prices through price matching and myWaitrose offers and deals.” Waitrose will report its full annual results on March 12.
Last week sweet treats and indulgent products sold well. Dessert sales were up 11.5% compared with last year and ice cream was up by 8%. As Valentine’s Day approaches, Champagne sales for the week were up 17% compared with last year. Sales of Valentine’s Day cards were up 10% and Seriously milk chocolate truffles were also flying off the shelves, with sales up by 186% compared with the previous week.
The cold weather across the country meant that warming food and drink proved a popular choice. Sales of soups were up 7% on last year and pasta was up by 12%.
