Sales grow at Sainsbury's

Sainsbury's saw sales jump 5.4% in the three months to the start of October as shoppers continued to flock to the UK's third-biggest grocer.

The supermarket said its "universal appeal" helped it to seal the increase in sales, which were up 4.6% on the same time last year when stripping out fuel and VAT and new store openings, despite what chief executive Justin King called the "challenging consumer environment".

King said that Sainsbury's "strong momentum" had continued. Its non-food ranges are now growing at nearly three times the rate of food.

But in the previous quarter, like-for-like sales grew by 7% amid signs its market surge was slowing.

The supermarket chain opened 19 new supermarkets during the period, including 14 Somerfield and Co-operative supermarkets bought earlier this year.

King said: "Our performance in the first half continues to show good progress as we also invest for the future. While we expect market growth to slow in the coming months due to reduced inflation, the universal appeal of our focus on quality and value leaves us well positioned going forward."

Rival Tesco yesterday said its second-quarter like-for-like sales in the UK rose 2.1%.