Clothing drives non-food sales at Tesco

Tesco has reported a 3.4% rise in sales to £15.3 billion for the first quarter ending 25 May, helped by a "strong" performance in clothing.

The supermarket chain said non-food sales lifted 0.7% during the 13 weeks, mainly driven by its own-brand clothing line, F&F.

Meanwhile, food sales were up 5%. This reflects a "strong" increase in the amount of groceries bought by British shoppers in the latest quarter as inflationary pressures eased, Tesco revealed.

It added that sales of Tesco Finest products were "particularly strong" as demand for premium products grew despite continued pressures on household budgets from higher mortgage and rental costs.

Tesco also said it saw more shoppers switch to the grocery giant from other UK "premium supermarkets" over the quarter.

It expects to deliver an operating profit of at least £2.8 billion for the current financial year, holding its targets set in April.

Ken Murphy, CEO of Tesco, said: "We’ve continued to build momentum in the business, with strong volume growth across the UK, Republic of Ireland and Central Europe supported by easing inflation.

"Our market share reflects this, growing more than at any other time in the past two years, with customers switching to us from other retailers, shopping with us more often and with more in their baskets."