Bulls in the shops

11 January 2017 By Carol Ryan

Sainsbury’s and Morrisons both beat sales expectations over Christmas. Such numbers are closely watched because some general retailers make up to 45 pct of annual sales over the period. Consumer sentiment is as important as the amount spent. The signs so far remain encouraging.

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British grocer J Sainsbury said on Jan. 11 that its third-quarter retail sales excluding fuel grew by 0.1 percent on a like-for-like basis, beating analyst expectations of a 0.8 percent decline.

Argos, the general retail chain that Sainsbury's bought last year from Home Retail Group, reported like-for-like sales growth in the quarter of 4 percent.

Competitor Wm Morrison said on Jan. 10 that its like-for-like sales excluding fuel in the nine weeks to Jan. 3 grew 2.9 percent, beating analyst expectations of 1.1 percent.

Sainsbury's shares were up 5.5 percent by 0820 GMT on Jan. 11.

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