StockMarketWire.com - Supermarket operator J Sainsbury said this morning it put in a solid sales performance in a challenging market in the first quarter ended 10th June. Total sales for the quarter were up 7.3% (4.3% excluding fuel).

Like-for-like Q1 sales were up 4.8% (1.9% excluding fuel).

The group said it enjoyed strong customer growth, with weekly transactions up 5% to 22 million.

Easter, the Royal Wedding and the glorious weather in April helped. Sainsbury said it sold nearly 300 miles of bunting, 159,000 flags and 49,000 mugs. Hot cross bun sales increased 29% and it sold the most champagne ever sold outside of Christmas.

The three key own label ranges, basics, by Sainsbury's, and Taste the Difference, all saw volume and sales growth in the period. Basics is the fastest-growing brand, and is now number two in the value market with 22.3% market share.

The general merchandise and clothing offer grew faster than food, despite a very tough market. This quarter Sainsbury celebrated its biggest childrenswear sales week ever, and it was the number one retailer for The King's Speech DVD, where it achieved a record market share of 34% in the week of its release.

The convenience business grew at 20%, underpinned by strong like-for-like growth, and the groceries online business grew at over 20%.

General merchandise online continued to grow strongly, supported by the accelerated roll-out of the Click & Collect service to a further 240 stores, including convenience stores. This brings the total Click & Collect stores to 400.

Sainsbury said the market environment remains very competitive, reflecting the challenging economic backdrop. It expects this to be the case throughout the year.

Justin King, CEO, said: "We've delivered a solid sales performance, in line with our expectations, in spite of the continued tough consumer environment. Fuel price inflation combined with strong fuel volume growth resulted in an increase in total sales of 7.3%, with like-for-like sales up 4.8%. Excluding fuel, total sales were up 4.3%, with like-for-like sales up 1.9%."

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