Weekly sales figures

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Managing Director: Mark Price
Retail Director: Rob Collins

Week 14

Percentage increase

 
Customers respond to price match pledge

Total sales for the week were 6.8 per cent higher than last year – a strong week against the comparison of a sunny bank holiday week in 2011.

Our customers have been responding positively to the news that our prices on branded grocery products are now identical to those of Tesco, excluding promotions.

Sales trends for the week were largely influenced by the less-than-clement weather.

We sold 54 per cent more cans of soup, 22 per cent more ready meals, 26 per cent more lamb and 32 per cent more stocks and gravies, as people enjoyed winter warming food instead of heading outside for a more traditional bank holiday barbecue.

Evidently many people also treated themselves to an indulgent bank holiday breakfast, with sales of bacon up by 15 per cent and sales of frozen, ready-to-bake croissants up by 34 per cent.

Customers have also been stocking up on baking ingredients, with sales showing that many customers chose to spend the bank holiday weekend making cakes at home.

Our flour sales increased by 35 per cent, cake coverings and decorations by 34 per cent and cake mixes by 33 per cent.

In preparation for the bank holiday weekend, we doubled our orders for cupcake cases, sprinkles and cake mixes to levels we would normally expect to see during autumn and winter months in order to meet the unseasonably high demand.

A more unusual trend has been noted by our export team, who have been preparing to send their biggest ever shipment of Waitrose food to Japanese customer Peacock Stores.

The Japanese retailer – who we have been supplying with Waitrose produce since 1996 – has put in its biggest ever order, more than twice the size of a usual consignment.

The order is for a range of traditionally British food and drink, ready for Japanese customers to enjoy while watching this summer's British events.

It includes plenty of quintessentially British products such as tea, jam, biscuits, cereals, boiled sweets and preserves, as well as some less likely candidates on the shopping list, such as tins of beans and jars of gherkins.

Tom Athron
Finance Director, Waitrose

Sales figures for operations groups

The below figures are based on percentage increase on 2011-12.

Sales figures for buying

The below figures are based on percentage increase on 2011-12.