Shares hit as Tesco steps up price wars
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Tesco opened a new round in the supermarket wars yesterday when it announced plans to cut the price of more than 600 of its most popular lines. Tesco is investing pounds 30m in its "Unbeatable Value" campaign and if a customer can find a comparable item cheaper elsewhere it will refund twice the price difference.
The move immediately sparked a reaction from Sainsbury, which launched its autumn price savers campaign last week, including "buy one, get one free" deals on 700 items. "If there are any products cheaper at Tesco, we will match them," Sainsbury said.
Shares in all the supermarket groups fell as the City anticipated a reaction from rivals. Asda is tipped as the most likely to respond as it has styled itself as the lowest price supermarket. Tesco's shares fell 9p to 291p, Sainsbury dropped 8p to 376.5p, and Asda closed 4p down at 106p.
Tesco has struck while Sainsbury is promoting its loyalty card and new figures yesterday showed it was losing ground to Tesco once more in the battle for market share.
Figures compiled by market research group AGB showed that in the four weeks to 25 August, Tesco's share of the UK market increased from 20.7 to 21.4 per cent, compared with the same period last year. Sainsbury's share fell from 19.1 to 18.6 per cent. Safeway and Asda recorded strong gains.
Tony MacNeary of NatWest said the move would weaken the sector and compound the problems of weaker competitors.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments