TMCnet News
Store wars Winners and losers in battle for festive sales(Guardian (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sainsbury's boss Justin King (above) claimed his supermarket was the "clear winner" of the period; it had its strongest ever performance in the week before Christmas, and more than pounds 100m of sales on Christmas Eve alone. * Sales for the 14 weeks to 5 Jan Philip Clarke, Tesco's boss, also claimed victory in the Christmas trading battle, which prompted Sainsbury's bosses to question Tesco's figures. * Sales for the 6 weeks to 5 Jan Waitrose reported a surge in orders made on tablets, with 22.8% of orders over Christmas made using a tablet, compared with 16.5% made via a mobile phone. * Sales for the 12 days to 31 Dec Though sales in the seven days before Christmas were up 17% to pounds 21.8m, and average orders per week rose 11.4% to 125,971 from 113,115 in 2011, this was only broadly in line with analysts' expectations. * Sales for the 6 weeks to 6 Jan Worst performer of the large supermarkets. Analysts said Morrisons only avoided a profits warning by heavily trailing its weak sales. Lost out because it has few convenience stores and no online shopping. * Sales for the 6 weeks to 30 Dec Marc Bolland, M&S's boss, had to release trading figures - which were worse than even the most pessimistic predictions - a day ahead of schedule after the figures were leaked. * Sales for the 12 days to 31 Dec Analysts reckon store sales down 1% on figures comparable with other retailers but saved by online trade and the fact the retailer bought less stock - meaning less left over to be marked down in the sale. * Sales for 1 Nov - 24 Dec Online sales were 44% higher than last year with Johnlewis.com now representing pounds 1 out of every pounds 4 spent with the store * Sales for the 5 weeks to 29 Dec Chief executive Angela Ahrendts said Burberry benefited "from a particularly strong week in the run-up to Christmas" in an otherwise difficult quarter. It was a bounce back from a grim outlook in September * Sales for the 3 months to 31 Dec It warned it will plunge into the red by up to pounds 8m this year after a decision to delay its winter sale tore into profits. * Sales in UK and Europe for 24 weeks to 12 Jan A record December after offering steep discounts, including 50% off some knitwear, lingerie and beauty lines in the "toughest trading for 40 years". * Sales for the 5 weeks to 5 Jan Overall bike sales were down 1.6% on a same-store basis but premium brands, such as Carrera and a range designed by Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman, were up 33%. * Sales for the 15 weeks to 11 Jan Majestic said its refusal to match aggressive discounts at supermarkets led to slower sales growth than in previous years. * Sales for the 7 weeks to 31 Dec Losses from outdoor clothing sales prompted JD to warn that annual profits would be at the low end of market expectations. "The business is much more weather-sensitive and there hasn't been much snow this Christmas," explained chairman Peter Cowgill. * UK & Ireland sales for the 7 weeks to 5 Jan Primark reported that its sales were up 25%, but analysts calculate up 9% on figures comparable with other retailers . "This performance is well ahead of expectations," Panmure Gordon analysts said. * Sales for the 16 weeks to 5 Jan The online clothing retailer whose customers include Michele Obama and Nicole Scherzinger said sales had never been stronger, with particularly high demand for black and white themed clothes and retro caps and trainers. * UK sales for the month of December (c) 2013 Guardian Newspapers Limited. |