Argos and Habitat brand owner, J Sainsbury PLC, has reported a growth in furniture sales while also increasing market share.

According to its preliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 5 March 2022, Sainsbury’s said that Argos sales were down 12.5% year on year against last year’s high sales during the pandemic.

However, household and home and furniture sales grew, predominantly driven by the Habitat brand.

“We have grown our furniture market share over the past two years, driven by Habitat, Sainsbury’s and Argos’s main home and furniture brand,” the group said.

“Following a relaunch in September, Habitat products are now available in 600 Sainsbury’s stores and online via the Argos and Habitat websites. We are growing our digital presence to ensure that we are well placed to serve customers who increasingly want to buy online. 80 per cent of Argos sales are now online, up from 63 per cent two years ago.”

Overall, General Merchandise sales fell 11.9% year-on-year to £6.1bn, reflecting “availability challenges in key product areas and our focus on profitable sales”.

In 2022/23, the group expects to open one supermarket and around 20 new convenience stores, and to close around two supermarkets and five convenience stores. In addition, it will open around 25 Argos stores inside Sainsbury’s, and close around 60 Argos standalone stores.

In the UK, the standalone Argos store estate will reduce to around 100 stores by March 2024, while it expects to have 430-460 Argos stores inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets as well as 450-500 collection points.

“We are working at pace to integrate the Sainsbury’s, Argos and Habitat supply chain and logistics networks, which will save at least £250 million over the programme, improve overall efficiency and deliver a better service to our customers,” the group added.