Tesco sees 6% profit drop, but a follow-up to Hudl is on its way
Tesco has reported a six per cent fall in group trading annual profit to £3.3bn, the second consecutive year that it has announced such a decline.
The supermarket chain's preliminary results for the last year also revealed a decline in UK sales by 0.1 per cent to just over £48bn while UK trading profit declined by 3.6 per cent to £2,191m.
In response to the digital shift, Tesco, which noted a strong top-line growth of online general merchandise, said it was planning to increase its Click&Collect locations “significantly” from the current 1,750 stores.
Additionally, in summarising its annual highlights, Tesco said that more than 500,000 Hudls, its own-brand tablet, had been sold.
“It was recently named winner of the ‘ReThink Retail Technology Initiative of the Year’ and we plan to launch a second device later this year,” the company added.
Commenting on the results, Philip Clarke, chief executive at Tesco said: “We are transforming Tesco through a relentless focus on providing the most compelling offer for our customers. Our results today reflect the challenges we face in a trading environment which is changing more rapidly than ever before. We are determined to lead the industry in this period of change.”
Meanwhile, the company said that it remained committed to delivering value to customers, saying that it had sent over 60 million personalised mailings over the past year, and highlighted last month's launch of its 'Clubcard Fuel Save' loyalty scheme, which will allow customers to accumulate savings when they shop in-store or online, and can redeemed at it's petrol forecourts.
A digital coupons app is also being trialed in Plymouth, it added, while its new social network, The Orchard, launched in November to communicate with customers, has grown its network to around 60,000 members.