Like-for-like sales have fallen at Tesco as the grocer struggles to recover market share in the wake of competition from discounters.
The world‘s third-biggest retailer, which makes two thirds of its revenue in Britain, reported a 1.6 per cent fall in LFL UK sales in the third quarter.
Tesco are 18 months into a £1bn revamp, and will invest £150m into its website and is aiming to be a Click and Collect market leader across its gigantic 3,146 store presence in the UK.
“The actions we have taken to position the business for the future – including the work currently underway to transform our general merchandise offer and our decision to significantly reduce the amount of new space we open – are also holding back our sales performance in the short-term,” said Tesco Chief Executive Philip Clarke.
Recent data from Kantar Wordpanel said that all big four supermarkets have lost market share for the 12 weeks ending 10 November this year, indicating a tough time for Tesco and its contemporaries.
Phil Dorrell, director of Retail Remedy said there was a long way to go for the supermarket but was full of praise for its ambitions to recapture lost market share.
“The US is now a closed chapter, the horse meat scandal is largely forgotten and the work they are doing on their format is both exciting and more radical than any of the big four,” he said.
“With online and Click & Collect performing a lot better now, too, you start to build a picture of a Tesco that is changing and making very customer-friendly decisions, all of which will bring benefits.”
Tesco have continued to struggle in Asia and especially in Thailand and South Korea. LFL sales fell by 6.9 per cent in Thailand and 5.1 per cent in Asia as a whole. The retailer did not include results from the US and China arm of its business in its Q3 report.
