Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain, reported record Christmas sales and its highest market share since 2016. Like-for-like sales (excluding fuel and VAT) rose 3.7% in the six weeks to January 4th. Pre-Christmas sales also saw a significant boost, climbing 2.8% over the 13 weeks to November 23rd, and 3.1% over the 19 weeks ending January 4th.
This strong performance is attributed to price investments and customer switching. Kantar data revealed Tesco's market share reached a nine-year high of 28.5% in the 12 weeks to December 29th, indicating a shift in consumer preference.
The company remains on track to meet upgraded full-year profit guidance of £2.9 billion in retail underlying earnings. However, the sales growth is slightly lower than the 6% achieved during the previous Christmas period. Tesco's CEO, Ken Murphy, highlighted the company's focus on offering value, quality, and service to all customers, emphasizing the "biggest ever Christmas" with sustained market share gains.
