Premium food treats send Sainsbury's sales soaring

STRONG demand for premium products, especially record numbers of pigs in blankets, helped increase Sainsbury's third-quarter grocery sales by 9.3%.

- Geoff Ho

Chief executive Simon Roberts said over the 16 weeks to January 6, sales of its Taste the Difference range rose by 13% as customers opted to treat themselves at home.

Sainsbury's overall third-quarter till toll, excluding fuel, rose 6.5% and general merchandise 0.9%. Clothing, however, fell 1.7%.

Bosses blamed the clothes decline on unseasonably mild weather, especially over Christmas, and high levels of promotions across the sector.

Meanwhile, sales fell by 0.9% at Argos. Sainsbury's, which acquired the catalogue retailer in 2016, said it suffered due to tough comparisons with Christmas 2022 when it benefited from the postal strike and high demand for energy-saving items.