Bid target Safeway remains optimistic about Christmas trading, despite a restatement of first-half sales showing a reliance on multi-buy promotions.
The grocer, likely to be sold to rival Morrison's in the New Year, insisted store standards were as 'good as they have ever been'. Finance director Simon Laffin said Safeway introduced more than 200 premium lines for the Christmas per-iod under its 'The Best' banner.
Non-food will also play a more important role than in the past, because Safeway will be trading from eight megastores in the run-up to Christmas.
Laffin maintained that morale at the Hayes head office is strong. 'People do not go around moping. Many people are excited about the prospect of working for a business that is bigger and more powerful than Safeway is today,' he said.
Safeway announced a dip in pre-tax, pre-exceptional profits for the six months to October 11 to£173 million, against£187 million the year before. Sales for the period were restated at£4.9 billion, compared with the£5.18 billion announced last month at the second-quarter update.
Like-for-likes were restated as down 2.5 per cent, not up 0.1 per cent.
Safeway decided to restate sales after the Accounting Standards Board published new guidance on revenue recognition on November 13. Turnover was restated net of multi-buy sales.
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