Sainsbury's sales hit by weak non-food demand

STORY: Sainsbury's saw a 3% rise in first-quarter underlying sales.

But Britain's second largest supermarket group also endured weather-related weakness in non-food areas.

And that offset strong demand for groceries.

The group said food sales rose 4.8% over the 16 weeks to June 22.

But general merchandise and clothing sales fell 4.3%, and sales at the group's Argos catalogue retail business dropped even more.

It all reflected both poor early summer weather and the strength of sales last year.

Sainsbury's said it still expected full-year retail operating profit of up to $1.34 billion, which would be up on last year.

Last week, rival Tesco reported a 4.6% rise in first quarter underlying UK sales.

It and Sainsbury's have pulled away from competitors like Asda and Morrisons, who are dealing with high debts.

Sainbury's shares were down over 4% after Tuesday's update.