Supermarket chain Tesco has hailed the impact of its high-profile Big Price Drop promotion, which the company says has helped to boost volume growth and market share.
In its latest trading update, the company revealed that while like-for-like UK sales excluding petrol and VAT were down 0.9 per cent in the third quarter, total sales including VAT and excluding petrol grew by 3.7 per cent. Group sales minus fuel were up by 5.4 per cent over the period.
“We have made good progress in our third quarter against the background of challenging conditions,” said chief executive Philip Clarke. “The Big Price Drop campaign, now in its second phase, has lowered prices significantly for hard-pressed families and we are now being rewarded with stronger food volume growth.”
Tesco pointed to recent data from Kantar, citing it as evidence that the retailer was “materially strong and ahead of the market”, and Mr Clarke noted that international growth had been healthy despite "difficult” conditions in Asia.
In August, the firm revealed it was seeking a buyer for its Japanese operation, having struggled to make sufficient headway in the market.
