Waitrose sales jump after price match move

Waitrose said customers "responded positively" to the price initiative, which covers staples such as Heinz baked beans and household basics including Persil.

It is the first time the chain has adopted price-matching tactics associated with budget rivals such as Leeds-based Asda and Bradford-based Morrisons.

Seymour Pierce analyst Freddie George said the size of last week's sales increase suggested the price-match initiative had not had the same impact as the introduction of the chain's Essentials basics range 18 months ago.

Waitrose - part of the John Lewis Partnership - generates 4.5bn a year in sales, with operating profits of 268m in its last financial year.

Elsewhere in the John Lewis business, department store sales rose 14 per cent during a "fantastic week" for the 30-strong chain.

Stores at London's Oxford Street and Cambridge saw sales growth of around 17 per cent but the strongest performance of the week to last Saturday came from the company's online operation, which posted sales growth of 57 per cent.

Across the business, all three buying departments of fashion, home and electricals reported double-digit sales growth during the period.

Mr George said it had been an outstanding week for the department stores division, fuelling hopes that the sector will be able to ride out current worries over the impact of austerity measures.

He added: "We are becoming more and more confident about the outlook for the general retail sector.

"We believe the government will temper the announcement of the October 20 spending cuts by bringing them in over a number of years. We also sense that the apparel retailers are raising prices across the board to offset the impact of the VAT increases."