Horsemeat scandal hits Tesco as convenience food sales slump
Even though the horsemeat story has gone quiet for a while, I knew it would find a way to resurface. This very interesting story make me not only reflect on the issue but also to wonder if outside of simple differentiators based on relative incomes certain supermarkets attract certain types of consumers. Do Tesco shoppers mainly read the Daily Mail and eat frozen food, whislt Aldi readers mainly look at local free papers and Waitrose readers like the Telegraph? I am sure the supemarkets know but it would be very interesting in considering public service provision to share their insights about the characteristics of their customers in our local area and to think about what we can learn from them. Sadly I suspect the information is too commercially sensitive for us to easily get our hands on it – tantalisingly interesting though it is! This article tells us:
Supermarket giant Tesco was left counting the cost of the horsemeat scandal as it revealed falling UK sales after a slump in demand for frozen and chilled convenience food.
The group posted a 1 per cent fall in UK like-for-like sales in its first quarter following a “small but discernible impact” from the horsemeat crisis after it was forced to withdraw four products.
Tesco said it was also suffering from continuing woes in its general merchandise division, with the sales slip marking a reversal in recent improvements following a 0.5 per cent bounceback in sales at the end of its financial year.
But the chain insisted its turnaround plans were on track and promised a relaunch of its non-food ranges, starting in smaller stores in the coming months followed by a company-wide overhaul later in the the year.
It added sales of frozen and chilled convenience meals had picked up in recent weeks.
Tesco said the horsemeat impact was “well behind it now” after completing nearly 1,500 tests on its own-brand meat ranges and finding new suppliers for the four products affected, which have since been relaunched.