Saturday, December 27, 2008

Tesco News: Tesco Says 'Boxing Day Weekend' Sales Event 'Biggest Ever' In UK


United Kingdom-based Tesco, the number one retailer across all categories in Britain, and the operator of the Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market fresh foods and grocery chain in the Western U.S., is holding, along with a number of its competitors, its hottest Boxing Day (days after Christmas) weekend sale in modern history.

Beginning yesterday, Tesco reduced prices on durable goods items in its UK stores by 70% in what the retailer and UK observers describe as the most-aggressive post-Christmas holiday promotion in history.

Tesco also is offering significant discounts on some food, grocery and household cleaning products items in its UK stores. However, the thrust of the mega-discounting sale is on soft goods, hard goods, consumer electronics and other similar category items.

It's all about salvaging Christmas holiday sales for Tesco and the other UK broadline retailers, as it is for similar retailers in the U.S. that rely on sales of durable goods, who also are offering mega-sales this weekend, including American Department stores like Macy's, Bloomingdales and others, which this weekend are offering up to 70% off on certain merchandise, just like Tesco and the others are doing in the UK.

And like the U.S., the UK's economy is in tatters, resulting in a poor Christmas holiday sales season across the pound as well as in the U.S. The discounting is needed to move the goods off the shelves and at least put some cash, even at lower margins, in the store tills.

Read about the biggest sale in history at Tesco, as well as similar sales at stores owned by its competitors in the UK, at the links below:

[Bloomberg: Next, Marks Join Tesco, Debenhams in Post-Christmas Price Cuts... Wales Online.UK: Shoppers' early start for Boxing Day bargains... Guardian.co.uk: If you thought the Christmas price cuts were good... Times Online-UK: Where to find the best bargains in the sales... Bloomberg: Tesco Plans 100 Million-Pound Sale to Lure Shoppers... Bloomberg: UK Retailers Offer Discounts to Reverse Sales Slump... ITV.com-UK: High street sales frenzy begins.] [And, Nine out of 10 UK consumers say they will cut back spending on everything in 2009, including food and grocery purchases.]

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