Shares in supermarket giant Tesco have fallen sharply after the company published disappointing sales figures for the all-important Christmas period.
Around £4bn was wiped off the company’s value in morning trading, following the announcement of a 2.3 per cent fall in like-for-like sales in the seven weeks to January 7. However, total group sales were up by 5.2 per cent including petrol and four per cent excluding petrol.
Tesco has sought to entice struggling shoppers in recent months by cutting the cost of a range of products as part of its Big Price Drop promotion. The firm suggested the drive had so far failed to have the desired effect, noting that the wider retail market had been “highly promotional” in recent months.
“In a challenging economic environment, we made good progress internationally but despite record sales, we are disappointed with our seasonal trading performance in the UK,” Tesco said in a statement. “The volume response to our increased investment into lowering prices did not offset the deflation it has driven.”
Its festive performance was in stark contrast to that of rival Sainsbury’s, which set a new record number of transactions in the week before Christmas Day.
