Tesco has reported a slower rate of decline in sales at its UK stores aided by slashing prices on fresh produce.
The UK's leading supermarket said UK sales fell by 1.3 per cent for the three months to the end of May 2015.In the same period a year ago, UK sales dropped by 4 per cent.
According to the Evening Standard,Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis attributed a reduction of the rot to boosted sales of cut-price fruit and veg, with the category 'outperforming the market by 3 per cent.'
Lewis, said: 'We are fixing the fundamentals of shopping to win back customers and relying less on short-term couponing.'
Lewis, who took over as CEO from Philip Clarke in September 2014, is trying to turn around the supermarket's fortunes after it reported the worst loss in its history in April - a full-year pre-tax loss of £6.4 billion, one of the largest in UK corporate history. About £4.7bn of the losses were the result of the fall in property value of its UK stores, 43 of which it said would close.
On Tesco’s Q1 results, David Gray, retail analyst at Planet Retail, said: 'This morning’s domestic like-for-like numbers showed modest improvement on Q4, suggesting Dave Lewis' recovery programme is seemingly beginning to bear fruit.
'There were a few positive signs from the results: the like-for-like numbers are better than some rivals, notably Asda, while signs of a return to volume growth - one of Lewis’ key objectives - are discernible. Considering the headwinds of flat or falling food prices, the UK figures are a step in the right direction - or, at the very least, still better than this time last year.'
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