Every little helps
THERE is a shopping list of reasons behind Tesco announcing a 52 per cent reduction in profits, the first such fall in 20 years. They include the supermarket giant’s failed foray into America; property writedowns and compensation claims relating to the mis-selling of payment protection insurance.
Many will welcome Tesco scrapping more than 100 store developments, a decision that offers some hope to those independent retailers fighting for survival. And while this decision could be construed as another poor reflection on the current state of the economy, Tesco did still record a profit of £1.96bn.
As such, yesterday’s results do not vindicate any attempts by the store, motto “every little helps”, to short-change farmers – the horsemeat scandal has shown the value of all stores supporting local producers wherever possible.