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Tesco sees strong books growth

13.01.11 | Graeme Neill

Tesco said it had strong category growth in books during the Christmas trading period, as it revealed group sales increased by 7.6%.

For the six weeks to 8th January, UK total sales increased by 4.2%. Like for likes were up 0.6%. It said: "In non-food, weather disruption for customers travelling to our larger stores was unhelpful and this, combined with demanding comparisons against last year's very good performance, meant that
growth was subdued. Nevertheless, we saw strong category growth in toys, books and gaming."

Chief executive Terry Leahy said: "The group has continued to make good progress, helped by strong growth across our international businesses, which delivered over half of the group's growth. Our performance remains solid but was hindered in the run-up to the important Christmas trading period in the UK by the disruptive effects of the severe winter weather conditions."

Total international sales increased 14.2% during the same period.

• Graeme Neill
• Retail
• tesco