Tesco sales fall €50m in first half

Tesco’s sales in Ireland fell €50m in the first half of the year, according to data from by the company, which has been struggling to turn its business around globally.

Irish sales fell from nearly €1.4bn to under €1.35bn, hit by competition from low-cost retailers and the fall-out from the horsemeat scandal.

Tesco said the Irish economy had fallen back into recession, forcing consumers to cut grocery spending on and benefiting the likes of Aldi and Lidl, which have fared better than other supermarket chains here.