Sainsbury's recovery exceeds expectations

The recovery of supermarket chain Sainsbury’s exceeded expectations today after the group posted its fifth quarter of sales growth in a row.

The retailer, buoyed by the success of its Try Something New campaign, weighed in with a like-for-like sales rise of 5.3% for the 12 weeks to last Saturday, against hopes in the City for a figure closer to 4%.

Chief executive Justin King said Sainsbury’s had attracted an additional one million customers to its stores in the past six months, as the chain benefits from improvements made in the first year of its recovery plan.