Agenda: B&M, Burberry and Asda update the market

B&M

B&M posts its interim results on Tuesday.

The value retailer posted increased sales during its first quarter, which boss Simon Arora hailed as its “third consecutive record Easter trading period”.

Revenue increased 21.4% to £967.6m during the period from March 31 to June 29.

B&M’s UK like for likes increased 3.9% up from an increase of 1.6% for the same period last year as revenue grew 13.8% to £738.9m.

The group’s convenience store chain Heron Foods’ revenue increased 8.1% to £93.1m during its first quarter and “continues to trade well on top of good performance in the prior year”.

Kantar-Nielsen

The latest Kantar-Nielsen grocery sales figures are released on Tuesday.

Sales across the grocery market grew 1.3% to £26.6bn in the 12 weeks to October 6, while the average spend per trip inched up 0.6%, according to the latest Kantar data.

Lidl and Aldi continued to collectively gain market share on the big four. Lidl and Aldi’s combined grocery sales jumped 0.8% year on year – an increase worth £1bn annually. Aldi reported a 7.3% increase to 8.1% of total market sales, while Lidl reported an 8.2% jump to 6%.

Combined, the discounters now account for 14% of total grocery market sales.

Keeping its mantle as the fastest-growing grocer in the UK, Ocado reported 13.3% growth in market share to 1.4% of total sales.

Among the big four, Sainsbury’s was the only supermarket to report growth for the 12 weeks, up 0.6%. Tesco sales fell 0.2%, while Asda and Morrisons saw sales fall by 0.9% and 1.8% respectively.

Burberry

Burberry posts its interim results on Thursday.

Burberry posted an increase in revenue for the first quarter and hailed the “excellent customer response” to some of its new product lines.

The luxury business recorded an increase in retail revenue of over 3% to £498m on a reported currency basis in the 13 weeks to June 29.

It also recorded a 4% increase in comparable sales, which it said was down to growth led by new product.

As a result of what the retailer called a “positive” first quarter of trading, it maintained its full-year guidance at around £120m.

Burberry praised the “excellent consumer response” to a range of new collections by chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci, which it said delivered “strong double-digit percentage growth” year on year.

ONS retail sales

The Office for National Statistics for October are released on Thursday.

The data for September showed retail sales were steady at 0.0% when compared with August, which saw a 0.2% downturn and a 0.4% uptick in July.

However, year-on-year sales in September increased 3.4% in terms of value and 3.1% in terms of quantity, with growth across all sectors except for department stores and household goods.

In terms of rolling three-month figures, the end of summer saw moderate growth of 0.6% up to September compared with the previous three months, where all sectors within non-food reported declines.

Walmart/Asda

Asda owners, Walmart posts its third-quarter results on Thursday.

The grocer posted an uptick in second-quarter sales, boosted by the later timing of Easter.

The supermarket giant recorded a 0.5% increase in like-for-like sales during the three months to June 30, while total sales grew 1.3%.

The number of transactions Asda registered during the three-month period dipped 0.2% like for like. Gross profit and operating income also declined, though parent company Walmart did not reveal exact figures for those metrics.

Walmart said Asda enjoyed sales growth despite “lapping difficult comparisons” and warmer weather last year. It added that “uncertainty surrounding Brexit continues to affect customers” in the UK.

Farfetch

Farfetch posts its third-quarter results on Thursday.

The luxury etailer suffered widening second-quarter losses despite a surge in sales, as it revealed the acquisition of a new brand platform.

The retailer posted losses after tax of $89.6m (£73.3m) for the three months ending June 30, a $71.9m increase on losses during the same period a year ago. It blamed the bottom-line pressure on an “increase in the operating loss” and a “decrease in unrealised foreign exchange losses”.

Its adjusted EBITDA loss hit $37.6m (£30.9m) during the period, a 40.7% increase year on year.

Farfetch enjoyed a 42.7% spike in revenue during the quarter to $209.3m (£172.1m), driven predominantly by growth in platform services revenue and in-store sales.