Businesses are in good shape, says Trevor Bish-Jones.
Woolworths today updated the market on trading for the 38 weeks to
27 October 2007 and revealed a -0.4% fall in like-for-like sales.

Total group sales for the 38 weeks were up 16.6% driven primarily by the acquisitions and contract wins within the Entertainment Wholesale business.

It added that margin delivery is in line with its expectation of a 100 basis points for the full year and it has reduced stock levels year-on-year.

"The retail business is well set up operationally as we enter the critical Christmas sales period, and the Worth it! Range continues to perform well," it said in an interim management statement.

Chief executive, Trevor Bish-Jones, said the businesses have made good progress in the year to-date.

"We are confident that operationally the businesses are in good shape, with strong customer propositions going into the critical Christmas trading period," he added.

However, he re-iterated the business's stance on what it sees as a tough trading environment and said it planned to focus on "cost control, cash generation and margin enhancement."