Who won (and lost) the high street Christmas battle?

The battle of the supermarkets saw Tesco come out considerably ahead of rivals Asda

Henry Saker-Clark
Wednesday 15 January 2025 09:12 GMT
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JD Sports has become the latest retailer to unveil how it fared in the key Christmas period as the slew of festive updates lays bare the winners and losers over the “golden quarter”.

A raft of major high street firms, including Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Next, have already unveiled their latest sales figures.

The figures so far have shed light on how consumer spending has held up this Christmas, with signs of resilience, particularly across the grocery sector, but continued reticence over buying big ticket items.

Firms including Next have also warned that prices are set to rise this year as they prepare to be hit by soaring costs linked to the autumn Budget in April.

Here we look at who the festive success stories are so far, and which retailers have appeared more downbeat.

Potential winners

High street fashion firm Next was among the first retailers to provide a Christmas update and impressed the markets after lifting its profit guidance due to higher sales.

The business, which runs hundreds of UK stores, saw shares rise by 3.7 per cent after it revealed last week that a better-than-expected 5.7 per cent rise in underlying full-price sales for its fourth quarter so far.

Next upgraded its guidance on Tuesday (Ian West/PA)
Next upgraded its guidance on Tuesday (Ian West/PA) (PA Archive)

As a result, it said profits are expected to rise by around 10 per cent for the year, ahead of previous targets.

The group however suggested that sales growth could slow in the new financial year amid pressure on household finances.

Next was also among high street firms to warn that its prices will rise in 2025 due to the impact of recent Budget measures.

Tesco

The UK’s largest bricks-and-mortar retailer, Tesco, was among the strongest performers over the Christmas after it continued strong recent trading. Tesco reported that its sales were up 3.1 per cent in total over the 19 weeks to January 4.

As a result, the retailer revealed that it has grown to have a 28.5 per cent share of the UK grocery market, its largest market share since 2016, as it won shoppers from grocery rivals.

Lidl

Lidl is another retailer who has clawed customers from its rivals by investing in its pricing over the past year.

The German supermarket group’s UK arm revealed that sales increased by 7 per cent year-on-year, as turnover surpassed £1bn over the four weeks to December 24, in a “record Christmas” performance.

Lidl has increased its market share over the past year (Andrew Matthews/PA)
Lidl has increased its market share over the past year (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Archive)

It said customers snapped up its Christmas party food and champagne as they sought to celebrate on a budget.

Experts at Kantar said the retailer saw the strongest growth of the UK’s main bricks-and-mortar supermarket chains.

Potential losers

The UK’s third-largest supermarket group, Asda, was among those to see their share of the grocery market shrink in recent months.

The company has not yet provided its own official trading update for Christmas, but figures from Kantar indicated that it saw sales drop by 5.8 per cent over the 12 weeks to December 29.

The private equity-backed business has launched a turnaround plan under returning boss Allan Leighton in an effort to return it to stable footing.

(Getty Images)

JD Sports

Shares in JD Sports dropped by about a tenth early on Tuesday after the high street chain lowered its profit outlook for the year.

JD Sports revealed the weaker outlook after flagging a challenging fashion market that saw rivals push through heavy discounting in the run-up to Christmas.

It said sales in November and December were 1.5 per cent lower than the same period a year earlier.

B&M

B&M was another retailer which saw investors react negatively towards its festive trading update.

It saw its share value also slump over a tenth after its UK sales dipped over the final quarter after new store openings were taken into account.

Analysts suggested the company saw a dearth of activity in October and November as its shoppers cut their spending in the run up to Christmas.

Co-Op

The Co-Op was the only other mainstream grocer to see sales slump over the final three months of the year, alongside Asda.

Kantar showed the retailer saw sales slip by 0.2 per cent for the period. Nevertheless, it comes amid a period of upheaval for the business, after selling its petrol forecourt business in 2022 in an effort to improve its finances.

Despite drifting the sales the company returned to profit last year as it continues its turnaround efforts.

Others

Marks and Spencer saw recent strong growth continue over the key Christmas period, with sales rising by 8.7 per cent.

However, it saw shares slide sharply on Thursday last week after it laid out a more cautious outlook than analysts had hoped for.

Marks & Spencer posted another jump in sales (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Marks & Spencer posted another jump in sales (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

M&S warned that the economic picture “remained uncertain” for the coming year, taking the shine off its bumper sales growth.

It vowed to pass on “as little as possible” amid speculation that a £120m jump in costs following the autumn budget could impact prices for customers.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s was another retailer where analysts highlighted a mixed picture, as shares slipped despite the firm reporting its “biggest ever Christmas”.

The retail giant said overall group sales, excluding fuel, were up 2.7 per cent for the 16 weeks to January 4, driven by strong momentum in its grocery business.

However, investor sentiment was weaker amid wider concerns over consumer demand.

Aldi

Discount supermarket Aldi has said it notched up more than £1.6bn in sales over the key festive month, as shoppers traded up to its premium ranges.

The German-owned group, Britain’s fourth biggest supermarket, said total sales rose 3.4 per cent in the four weeks to Christmas Eve. However, Kantar data suggested that Aldi sales grew at a slower rate than the wider grocery sector over the final three months of last year.

What is still to come?

There are still a raft of major retailers who are still to report on their Christmas trading figures.

Later this week, Currys and Dunelm will be among retailers to provide updates. Primark owner Associated British Foods will be among those to update the market the following week.

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