ainsbury’s records £330million profit for 2020 after Christmas and Black Friday trading surge

Sainsbury’s records £330million profit for 2020 after Christmas and Black Friday trading surge with 1.1MILLION online orders in the 10 days before Christmas

  • Britain’s second largest supermarket chain thought profit would be £50m less 
  • Huge sales from Black Friday and just before Christmas catapulted revenue up
  • Sainsbury’s also owns Argos, which saw sales rise 8.4% in past three months

Sainsbury’s has such strong Christmas sales its profits for the year will be £50million more then expected as the pandemic continued to be good for food stores, it was revealed today.

Britain’s second largest supermarket chain, which also owns Argos, said its underlying pre-tax profits for the year are now expected to hit £330million compared with £270million previously predicted.

Grocery sales were also strong – up 7.4%, with online business up 128% as 1.1 million online orders for food were delivered in the 10 days leading up to Christmas, the supermarket said. 

A bumper Christmas and Black Friday has helped Sainsbury’s make £50million more than expected

Online sales are through the roof with 1.1million online deliveries in ten days before December 25

Online sales are through the roof with 1.1million online deliveries in ten days before December 25

The profit upgrade comes as the supermarket said sales in the three months to January 2 soared 8.6% on a like-for-like basis, helping profits surge. 

Sales over the Christmas period – the nine weeks to January 2 – were particularly strong, growing 9.3%.  

Sainsbury’s said Christmas and Black Friday sales beat expectations, as stores benefitted from the national lockdown in England in November and the subsequent tiering, which allowed non-essential stores including its Argos business to trade on a click-and-collect basis.

Non-food sales grew by 6%, with Argos sales up 8.4% in the three months to January 2.