Tesco has reported a challenging Q3 for Booker, with like-for-like sales declining by 2.6%.
This was primarily driven by a significant 11% drop in tobacco sales and a 0.5% decline in core retail.
However, a strong Christmas trading period - with core retail sales increasing to 5.7% and core catering sales growing to 5% - helped mitigate earlier losses and strengthen Booker’s overall Christmas like-for-like sales growth to 1.4%.
Strength in core retail and catering over the Christmas period was offset by the tobacco market decline (-6.1%) and Best Food Logistics (-4.1%).
Overall, in the 13 weeks of Q3 and the six weeks of Christmas trading, core retail experienced a growth of 1.3% demonstrating that “symbol brands continue to perform well despite a subdued market backdrop,” said Tesco.
Ken Murphy chief executive at Tesco commented: ”I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Tesco for their hard work in delivering a great Christmas. As we start 2025, we look forward to continuing to offer our customers the very best products and experience at Tesco.”
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