Sainsbury s said the second English national lockdown in November and subsequent tiering in December helped sales soar, meaning profits for the year are now likely to be £50 million higher than first thought. The unplanned profit upgrade was revealed as supermarket bosses said sales in the three months to January 2 were up 8.6% on a like-for-like basis. Over the Christmas period itself - measured by Sainsbury s as the nine weeks to the same date - these were even higher, growing 9.3%. The like-for-like measure does not include the permanent closure of 120 standalone Argos stores which were not reopened after the first national lockdown in March. On a total basis, sales during the three-month period were up 6.8%.
The best Christmas cakes for 2020, tried and tasted
Which supermarket or specialist cake comes out on top in the search for the perfectly spiced, fruity Christmas cake?
Love it or hate it, Christmas wouldn t be the same without it
Credit: Diana Miller
It may be a little late to bake your own cake (many people will have been judiciously feeding theirs weekly for the past six months), but fear not; this year s haul of shop-bought Christmas creations are guaranteed to deliver a sizeable slice of fruit, spice and festive flair – not to mention a slug or two of brandy in the mix.
If you shop at Asda or Iceland, you can easily get your hands on Which? Best Buy mince pies this festive season.
This year, our general public testing panel blind tasted 11 premium mince pies each from all the biggest supermarkets, including the discounters Aldi and Lidl. Pies were rated not only on flavour, but also on texture, aroma and appearance. Only two were good enough to earn our coveted Best Buy stamp of approval.
Iceland and Asda mince pies tied at the top
It’s the texture and flavour of the filling that helped them take joint-honours this year, with Asda also rated particularly highly for its simple but well-designed star-topped pastry cases.
The best Christmas cakes for 2020, tried and tasted telegraph.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from telegraph.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.