Tesco Ireland sales rise to over €1.27bn in the lead up to Christmas

Tesco Ireland claimed its market share rose to 24.6% which would be its strongest position in nine years.

Sales in Tesco Ireland grew to £1.1bn (€1.27bn) in the months leading up and after Christmas as the company cited a strong performance in its seasonal offerings.

According to the company’s latest trading report, in the three months to November 25, sales in Ireland grew by 8.3% compared to the same period last year with sales growing by 5.5% over the Christmas period from the end of November to January 6.

Overall, in the 19 weeks up to January 6, like-for-life sales in Tesco Ireland rose by 7.3%.

Natasha Adams, chief executive of Tesco Ireland, said the company’s performance during the festive period was “strong” with growth being seen in sales of fresh food, packaged categories as well as their seasonal lines outperforming expectations.

Tesco Ireland also claimed its market share rose to 24.6% which would be its strongest position in nine years.

While this growth might be positive for Tesco Ireland, groceries price inflation in December was running at 7.1% compared to the same period in 2022.

In the UK, Tesco generated £16.8bn (€19.5bn) in the months leading up to January 6. During the six-week Christmas period, like-for-like sales increased by 6.8%.

The company said that it now expects to generate £2.75bn (€3.19bn) in operating profit this year from its retail business, up from its previous expectation of £2.7bn.

Meanwhile, one of Tesco’s biggest competitors M&S also had a good Christmas trading period with sales increasing 8.1% beating forecasts in the process.

The British company said the strong performance - its 11th successive quarter of growth - underpinned its confidence about profits this year, but it sounded a note of caution on economic uncertainty and pressure from wage and business rates inflation.

Despite beating expectations, M&S did not upgrade its profit expectations.

Additional reporting by Reuters