A strong performance in bakery has bolstered slowing sales growth at Tesco, according to its latest trading update.
The company today (13 June) reported that the category, along with dairy and fresh prepared foods, had delivered strong volume growth, with sales up 1.6%, 1.6% and 2.4%, respectively, in the 13 weeks ended 25 May 2019.
Overall UK sales, meanwhile, saw like-for-like change of 0.4% – a marked slowdown on the 1.7% growth reported in the final quarter of 2018/19 and the 2.1% growth seen in the comparative quarter for that financial year.
However, Tesco said it had outperformed its rivals in a “subdued” market. This followed further investments in its range, price and loyalty as part of its ‘100 Years of Great Value’ campaign.
It also noted a strong performance during the Easter period across all formats, including its biggest-ever sales day for small stores on Easter Sunday, which fell on 21 April this year.
UK online grocery sales were also up 7% year-on-year, with the proportion of customers choosing the click & collect option increasing to over 10%.
“We have had a strong start to the year, growing ahead of the UK market on both a volume and value basis. Our customer offer is more competitive than ever, with a wider choice of our ‘Exclusively at Tesco’ products now available in more stores, helping to drive more than 10% sales growth across the range,” said Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis.
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