Total sales at upmarket commercial property grocer Waitrose were up 6.2 per cent to £120.36m on last year for the week to December 10th 2011, as consumers stocked up on festive treats.
Longer life-products proved popular as shoppers got ready to spread the cost of Christmas party favourites and bottled beer, cider and gin saw sales increase 23 per cent, 36 per cent and 17 per cent separately.
The commercial property supermarkets’ online service, Waitrose Wine Direct, also reported an improvement in trading, as sales of wine through the channel soared 70 per cent compared to the same period in 2010.
Although shoppers are preparing themselves for the big day, housework is at the forefront of their minds as washing up liquid sales rose 12 per cent whereas cleaning products saw a 19 per cent rise on last year.
During the run-up to Christmas, the grocer is concentrating its attention on its supply chain and Supply Chain Director for the retailer, David Jones, explained that the team is working flat out to meet demand and be prepared for hard-hitting weather conditions.
He said: “In December our warehouse teams will pick around 25 million cases of stock ready for delivery to our shops. That works out to an average of 11 cases of stock every second, with teams picking through the day and night. “
He further added: “As we enter the final Christmas trading week of 2011 we are keeping a very close eye on the weather forecast-with our fingers crossed firmly.”
Prior to this week, the commercial property supermarket retailer announced that stores in Central London are now receiving deliveries from the first of a new breed of low-emission Mercedes-Benz trucks using cutting-edge technology which allows the driver to check the performance of the electric motor.
The Lenham Storage’s new 12-tonner has features mass-produced from lightweight, recyclable panels. It is also equipped with a specifically developed version of the Mercedes-Benz Motor Shop-Start (MSS) system, which increases fuel economy simply by switching off the engine every time the vehicle is in neutral and stationary for three seconds.
It is also assigned primarily to commercial property Waitrose store deliveries in London and makes between 12 and 15 ‘drops’ per day; six days a week.
Fleet General Manager at the John Lewis Partnership Justin Laney said: “We believe hybrid vehicles will have a valuable role to play in reducing carbon emissions and improving local air quality in urban environments.”
He further added: “Using this vehicle for deliveries to our Waitrose shops will help us to assess the contribution that the latest hybrid technology can make to our own carbon reduction plans.”
Meanwhile rival commercial property supermarket chain Tesco has seen like for like sales, excluding fuel and VAT, fall by 0.9 per cent in the third quarter.
That echoed commercial property Tesco’s second quarter performance.
It has suffered more than its rivals for the reason that it sells more discretionary non-food goods, which consumers have been cutting back on most as a result of the household spending squeeze.
In September, the commercial property retailer said it was cutting the cost of 3,000 everyday goods in a £500m investment-sparking a price war with its rivals in the run up to the crucial Christmas trading period.
According to Kantar World panel, commercial property Tesco’s market share has also suffered in current weeks.
In spite of the drop in sales, Philip Clarke, Chief Executive has said he is pleased with the early reaction from consumers to the so-called ‘Big Price Drop’, saying it was a “promising” performance.
But the comment has drawn a sceptical response from retail research analyst at Seymour Pierce stockbrokers, Kate Calvert.
She said the use of the word “promising” was not “particularly encouraging language”-and the commercial property retailer’s shares fell 1 per cent on opening.
Mr Clarke moved to support his claim by pointing out that food and grocery volumes had increased by almost 1 per cent over the three-month period.
He commented: “We created deflation in our food and grocery categories but we’ve got volume improvement.”
Laurie McIiwee, Tesco finance director said the commercial property retailer has also seen an improving trend in the UK-non-food like-for-like sales.
He also acknowledged that the company were taking steps to address the threat from a possible break-up of the Eurozone.
Mr McIiwee firmly established it had been handling its currencies carefully and had ensured there was no risk from re-financing until early 2014, in case credit markets seized up.
Overseas, the commercial property supermarket has experienced a momentous slowdown in Asia, which has driven the overall group performance in previous months.
Like-for-like sales grew 0.8 per cent compared with 3.9 per cent in the second quarter, as the impact of warm temperatures in South Korea and China and flooding in Thailand took their toll.
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