But Christmas trading has got off to a slightly better start for close rival Sainsbury (SBRY), which stood out among its peers. The supermarket chain took £4.35bn in the 12 weeks to 6 December this year, a 1.2 per cent rise on 2014. Unsurprisingly, budget chains Aldi and Lidl enjoyed the most bouyant start to Christmas trading, with £1.47bn and £1.14bn running through their tills during period. This represented an increase of 15.4 per cent and 17.9 per cent respectively on 2014's sales. Competitive pressure from budget grocers have been a thorn in the side of their larger rivals, squeezing prices and margins for the more established UK supermarkets.
