Trading Statement

Sainsbury(J) PLC
21 June 2006



21 June 2006



First Quarter Trading Statement for 12 weeks to 17 June 2006



Highlights

•         Total sales for quarter one up 8.1 percent (6.7 percent excluding
          petrol) (2)

•         Like-for-like sales for quarter one up 7.1 percent (5.7 percent
          excluding petrol) (2)

•         Recovery remains on track: sixth consecutive quarter of like-for-like
          sales growth



Trading

Justin King, chief executive, said: 'This quarter is a good start to the second
year of our Making Sainsbury's Great Again plan.  Like-for-like sales were up
5.7 percent (2), we have continued to grow sales ahead of the market (3) and our
recovery remains on track.  We are now providing a much better and more
consistent shopping experience.  We have listened to customers and responded to
what's important to them.  We've continued our investment in lower prices,
raised quality standards and developed new products and our sales performance
continues to reflect the restored confidence customers now have in our ability
to deliver great products at fair prices.



'Our good sales performance is enabling us to invest more back into our offer,
improving our relative price position and driving further improvements for
customers.  This is reflected in the level of grocery deflation during the
quarter which was 0.9 percent, as we have continued to reduce prices despite
underlying cost pressures.  A combination of warm weather and additional sales
of products related to the World Cup, where Sainsbury's is official supermarket
of the England football team, has led to a particularly good trading performance
during the past couple of weeks after the sector generally experienced a slower
level of growth after Easter. Going forward we are up against tougher
comparatives and the market continues to be very competitive although we
continue to believe our underlying sales performance can achieve the goal
outlined in our Making Sainsbury's Great Again plan.



Making Sainsbury's Great Again

'There's a clear trend in customers wanting more information about the food they
eat.  Our Wheel of Health nutritional labelling is now on over 1,700 products
and we continue to add it to more products every week. Using red, amber and
green colour coding is welcomed by customers. It challenges the choice of
ingredients we use helping us to improve the nutritional content of our
products.  Adopting this route shows how serious we are about helping customers
understand what is in their food and around 80 percent of customers tell us the
labelling helps them to decide which products to buy.



'Our focus on fresh food also sets us apart from competitors particularly as
British products come into season.  We're working with British farmers to help
extend growing seasons and have been the first retailer to get a variety of
British produce into stores in recent weeks.  British strawberries, raspberries,
tomatoes, onions and asparagus are now in our stores as part of our ongoing
commitment to provide locally produced food that is in season and at its best
for customers.



'Product quality is an inherent part of our brand and we're delighted to have
been chosen to provide the picnic tea for the special 'Children's Party at The
Palace' being held at Buckingham Palace this Sunday as part of the Queen's 80th
birthday events. Designed to celebrate traditional and contemporary British
food, we have worked with around 20 of our regional UK suppliers to provide the
royal picnic tea.



'An outstanding success this quarter has been our Active Kids programme which
provides schools with sporting equipment and experiences in return for vouchers
earned in store.  We extended the programme into nurseries and special needs
schools this year and increased the rewards on offer. Over 30,000 schools and
nurseries registered and we have seen a good uplift in the number of vouchers
collected.  As a result we expect to deliver during the autumn term
significantly more equipment to schools this year than the £17 million supplied
in 2005. We also sponsor the Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile, which takes place on
15 July, and we are selling a range of exclusive merchandise to support the
event.  Sainsbury's colleagues throughout the UK are taking part in a wide range
of fundraising activities.



'Last week we opened our 100th online store in Hedge End, in Southampton, taking
our coverage of the UK to 80 percent.  During the quarter we also refurbished 29
stores, 14 supermarkets and 15 convenience stores and opened four new
convenience stores.'

Enquiries:

Investor Relations                                         Media
Lynda Ashton                                               Pip Wood
[phone]                                       [phone]



Notes

(1)      Certain statements made in this announcement are forward looking
statements.  Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject
to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from any expected future events or results referred to in these
forward looking statements.

(2)     Growth rates have been Easter adjusted. The adjustment adds the Easter
trading week to the comparator number in 2005/06.

(3)     As measured by TNS on a 12 weekly basis compared with the previous year.

(4)    Sainsbury's will announce its second quarter trading results for 16 weeks
to 7 October 2006 on 11 October 2006.

(5)    A conference call will take place at 8.45 BST.  To listen to the audio
webcast we recommend that you register in advance. To do so please visit
www.j-sainsbury.co.uk   prior to the event and follow the on-screen
instructions.  To view the transcript of the conference call, go to
www.j-sainsbury.co.uk on 23 June 2006.








                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange