Coles has reported its first quarter sales results, with group sales revenue increasing by 10.5 per cent to $9.6 billion, while c-store comparable sales grew by 10.2 per cent.
C-store sales revenue was $291 million for the first quarter, an increase of 10.3 per cent on the prior corresponding period, with comparable sales growth of 10.2 per cent.
Meanwhile supermarkets sales revenue was $8.5 billion, an increase of 9.8 per cent on the prior corresponding period, with comparable sales growth of 9.7 per cent.
Coles said that c-store sales continued to benefit from reduced CBD footfall and the COVID driven shift in customer behaviour towards the convenience channel.
Fuel volumes also began to recover during the first quarter as average weekly volumes in all states improved, excluding Victoria, which was impacted by Stage Four restrictions.
Coles said: “Despite subdued fuel volumes and lower foot traffic in-store, c-store sales were highly resilient supported by Express’ strong customer proposition and network. Growth was driven by the drinks category, supported by recent investments in fast-lane fridges, while the business also continued to benefit from strong tobacco and coffee sales.
“The rollout of new self-service coffee machines continued during the first quarter with almost 70 per cent of the fleet now completed. The high quality and improved customer offer generated pleasing results with coffee volumes showing strong improvement in sites where the new offer has been installed. The rollout of the remainder of the network is expected to be completed in the second quarter.
“Fuel volumes declined by 19.4 per cent during the quarter with comparable fuel volumes declined by 20.1 per cent largely due to the impact of Stage Four restrictions in Victoria. Average weekly fuel volumes of 52.3ml per week were recorded during the quarter. With the exception of Victoria, average weekly fuel volumes improved in all states compared to the fourth quarter of FY20.”
During the quarter, Express opened 10 new sites and closed one site, bringing the total network to 722 Express sites.