Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Waitrose’s total sales excluding petrol were up 5.7% in the week to May 25 at £117.12m.
Mark Williamson, the commercial director of the upmarket grocery chain, said: “Many parts of the country finally enjoyed some long-awaited sunshine at the weekend. But with the weather still significantly cooler than the roasting temperatures last year, we saw a real mix of trends.”
Customer shopping patterns were diverse: many people took the opportunity to enjoy some summery foods, with sales of new potatoes up by 25%, packs of fresh fish up by 18%, and snack salads up by 75%.
But in contrast, there were strong sales of cold weather foods – with soup sales up 40% for example, and home baking ingredients up 23%.
