Britain's biggest retailer, supermarket group Tesco, announced Thursday a rise in first quarter sales alongside news it was further trimming operations. Tesco, which earlier this month said it was exiting Turkey to focus internationally on Central Europe and Southeast Asia, said it was now offloading also British coffee chain Harris + Hoole to Caffe Nero.
It comes as Tesco added in a statement that group sales increased 1.1 percent in the three months to the end of May compared with the first quarter of its 2015/16 financial year. Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis said the company had delivered sales growth "in what remains a challenging market with sustained deflation". The group, which is steadily turning around performance after recent turbulent trading, is in the process of selling also Dobbies Garden Centres and restaurant chain Giraffe. Tesco's overall business rebounded into profit in the year to February on strong sales, after a vast property writedown and challenging home trade sparked a record £5.7-billion loss in its previous financial year.