Tesco FD defends group's festive sales figures

Tesco FD Andrew Higginson has hit out at suggestions that the supermarket group could be losing its touch after being the leader of the high street over the last decade.

'There is something of a Little Englander view on UK trading, but we have been building a broader platform for growth for the past ten years,' said Higginson.

Higginson made the comments as Tesco released figures showing that like-for-like sales had risen 3.1%, excluding fuel, in the six weeks leading up to January 5.

But analysts, who had been expecting growth of 4.5%, saw shares fall 13p to 407p. Other retail stores also so disastrous price drops Debenhams prices plunging 17% and Burberry's shares dropping 16%, the TimesOnline.co.uk reported.

Traders however said that Tesco's like-for-like sales 'is a big miss and is significantly below the worst estimates.'

Higginson however maintained that the group would meet profit targets for the current financial year and drew attention to international sales growth of 26.9% over the six-week period.

'“Group sales were up 12.8%, we took £7 billion in the six weeks. That's a big number and a big increase on a big number the year before' said Higginson.

Further reading:

Tesco adds to high-street pain

Tesco's UK growth falls short of hopes as competition intensifies