Woolies keeps lead over Coles
WOOLWORTHS has outpaced rival Coles for the sixth straight trading update as it funnels more shoppers through its checkouts and continues to cut prices, albeit at a lower rate.
Food sales rose 4.7 per cent to $ 9.57 billion for the 13 weeks to April 1 compared to the same period a year earlier, the nation’s biggest supermarket chain said yesterday.
The more closely watched like- for- like sales came in at 4 per cent, well ahead of the 1.3 per cent like- for- like sales growth Coles posted for the same period last week.
The like- for- like number is closely watched by investors as it strips out the impact of stores opening and closing.
Woolworths said its food prices were 1.3 per cent lower for the quarter compared to the same period a year earlier.
Coles posted price deflation – the rate at which shelf prices are falling – of 0.7 per cent but its number also includes liquor sales.
Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci said the supermarket giant was shifting from a turnaround phase to a transformation one.
“We remain energised by the number of opportunities we see to continue to improve our business,” chief executive Brad Banducci said yesterday.
The latest trading updates from the supermarket giants add to the signs they are taking their foot off the price cutting pedal despite repeated denials there has been any change in strategy.
Woolworths’ latest price deflation number of 1.3 per cent is down from a more aggressive 2.4 per cent it recorded for the first three months of the financial year.
Total sales at Woolworths Group rose 4.3 per cent to $ 14.2 billion.