Christmas might not have been a washout, but that’s not enough to inject any more cheer into investors. Festive sales were 7.9 per cent higher for Tesco, saving the UK’s largest supermarket chain from a profit warning. But the market is more focused on what is coming.
Higher prices were behind the increase in sales, actual volumes fell. Figures from Kantar had already revealed that grocery prices were running just over 14 per cent ahead of December 2021. To no one’s surprise, customers have continued to trade down, both in terms of the amount they are buying and ditching branded items for the no-frills version. Why does that matter? Higher-priced branded goods deliver a higher cash margin, own-label items are relied upon to push
