Waitrose sales soar in Marks & Spencer 'posh food' fight

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The figures make Waitrose easily Britain's fastest growing supermarket chain and compare favourably with the 1.3 per cent sales advance disclosed recently by M&S.

They come as Ocado — the online grocer that delivers Waitrose products — set a new record for the number of deliveries in a single day, of 17,500.

Waitrose will be one of the biggest headaches facing M&S chief executive Marc Bolland, who arrives from Morrisons in May on a £15 million first year package that has irritated some City investors. His opposite number at Waitrose, the "chubby grocer" Mark Price, is thought to earn about £600,000 plus a modest partner profit share on top.

City analysts believe M&S was slow to spot the squeeze on shoppers in the run-up to the recession. M&S chairman Sir Stuart Rose has admitted the chain was "bested" by Waitrose over Christmas. Waitrose is now selling more food than M&S for the first time.

Mr Price said its success was due to its lower priced "Essentials" range launched in March and free delivery on its WaitroseDeliver online service, which surged by 100 per cent on the previous year. He said the performance is "remarkable" and the 222-store chain is serving half a million more customers a week than a year ago.

Mr Price, who was tipped to succeed Mr Bolland at Morrisons, said he never had any intention of leaving Waitrose. "There is far too much going on," he said. This includes the launch of Waitrose ranges in Boots from April, more stores at Welcome Break services and an exlusive deal with Prince Charles's Duchy Original brand.

John Lewis, which owns Waitrose, also reported sales up 15.6 per cent in the week to the 30 January.