Coles’ supermarkets and liquor stores sold $6.9 million worth of goods during the September quarter, an increase of more than four per cent.

The supermarket giant lifted its sales 4.4 per cent during the quarter, compared to the same time last year, according to figures released by parent company Wesfarmers on Thursday.

Meanwhile, sales from Coles Express locations, which include petrol stations, rose 6.5 per cent to $2.0 billion.

Coles said the rise in sales came despite a 2.5 per cent fall in prices during the quarter, mostly in the fresh produce area.

Meanwhile total stores sales from Wesfarmers’ home improvement business Bunnings rose more than 10 per cent during the quarter to $2 billion. Store-on-store sales grew 7.1 per cent.

Among Wesfarmers other retail businesses, Officeworks recorded a three per cent rise in sales to $373 million while Kmart lifted its sales 4.6 per cent to $970 million.

But Target continued to struggle, with sales down 6.1 per cent from last year to $789 million.

Richard Goyder, MD of Wesfarmers, said the company was generally pleased with the performance of its retail businesses during the quarter.

“Our continued focus on improving merchandise offers and value for customers was reflected in strong transaction and volume growth achieved across our retail businesses,” Goyder said.

AAP