Tesco posts strong Christmas sales
Tesco increased like-for-like sales by 2.7% year-on-year at its core UK and Ireland supermarket business in the peak Christmas trading period despite the impact of supply chain issues.
Sales in central Europe were also strong, rising by 8.1%.
In a trading update, the retailer said it achieved its highest market share in four years with growth in both stores and online.
It also put in a strong large store and convenience performance and said that online sales were significantly ahead of pre-Covid levels with around 1.2 million orders per week.
Ken Murphy, Tesco chief executive, said: “We are delighted that we were able to help our customers have a great Christmas. Despite growing cost pressures and supply chain challenges in the industry, we continued to invest to protect availability, doubled down on our commitment to deliver great value and offered our strongest ever festive range. This put us in a strong position to meet customers’ needs as, once again, Covid-19 led to a greater focus on celebrating at home. As a result, we outperformed the market, growing market share and strengthening our value position.”
The Christmas performance meant the retailer’s third quarter sales rose by 2.4% with growth of 2.3% in the UK and Ireland.
Tesco now expects full year retail operating profit will be slightly above the top-end of its previous £2.5 billion to £2.6 billion guidance range.
