Proactive Investors - J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) reported a 6.2% decline in year-on-year sales at its Argos subsidiary in the latest quarter due to a drop in demand for consumer electronics.
Sales at the catalogue-based retail chain fell 6.2% in the 16 weeks to 22 June and while this was against strong 2023 comparatives, Sainsbury’s also acknowledged “significantly lower” seasonal sales and weak demand for electronics, particularly gaming.
Sales in Sainsbury’s core grocery division rose 4.8%, though general merchandise and clothing sales were off 4.3%.
Britain’s second-largest supermarket (behind Tesco (LON:TSCO)) said that “volume growth has remained strong as inflation has slowed” while noting the “biggest market share gains of any grocer during the quarter”, per Kantar data.
Chief executive Simon Roberts stated: "We are pleased with our market-beating grocery performance and the early progress we're making against our priorities in the Sainsbury's plan.
“We've been winning from competitors every month for 15 months, as more and more customers choose Sainsbury's for their big weekly shop."
The company anticipates a retail underlying operating profit for the full year in the range of £1.01 billion to £1.04 billion, reflecting an increase of around 5-10%.
Additionally, Sainsbury's plans to return at least £250 million to shareholders following the completion of the sale of Sainsbury’s Bank to NatWest (LON:NWG).