Tesco Suffers From Weak U.K. Market

A customer carries a bag of shopping from a Tesco Plc supermarket in London, U.K., on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019. Investors looking for relief from the tumult of global markets may want to avert their eyes from a report showing that by one measure, U.K. retail sales had their worst year in more than a decade. , Bloomberg

Thomas Buckley, Bloomberg News

Jun 13, 2019

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(Bloomberg) -- Tesco Plc started the financial year on a downbeat note as the U.K.’s largest retailer said sales were held back by a subdued domestic consumer market.

  • Comparable sales in the U.K. rose 0.4% in the first quarter, well below the 0.8% increase analysts expected.

Key Insights

  • Tesco has used its scale to hold down prices, limiting the fallout from Brexit and a shift to online shopping that have hit other retailers. But the latest results show it’s not immune.
  • The company suffered from comparisons against a particularly strong period last year, when it benefited from warm weather and a royal wedding. The Booker wholesale division, which has been driving growth, continues to expand but was also held back by a similar effect after securing contract wins last year.

Market Reaction

  • Tesco’s shares have climbed 20 percent so far this year.

Get More

  • For more on the results, click here.

To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Buckley in London at tbuckley25@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net

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