Retailer Waitrose has revealed that it enjoyed its strongest-ever week of sales as the festive season reached its climax, building on a similarly impressive showing at Christmas 2010.
In its latest trading update, the supermarket chain announced that like-for-like (LFL) sales were up by 3.8 per cent in the seven days to December 25, with total sales climbing by 9.5 per cent year-on-year. Sales of Christmas puddings soared by more than 50 per cent, while turkey pre-orders were up 66 per cent.
“More customers than ever before shopped across all our ranges this Christmas, from luxurious festive fare to essential Waitrose trimmings. We’ve had a very strong Christmas,” said Waitrose managing director Mark Price.
Total grocery sales were up by 19.1 per cent on the same period in 2009, while LFL sales climbed by 8.8 per cent. Waitrose has embarked on a major expansion programme over the last year, extending its reach into new areas of the country by opening a string of new outlets.
The announcement came after Waitrose’s sister company, John Lewis, described its own Christmas performance as “outstanding”, with a strong increase in both in-store and online sales.
