Tesco slashes 1,000 prices by 50% in three-day sale

By Andrew Cleary  |   2008-12-12  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

TESCO Plc, the United Kingdom's biggest supermarket company, said it will cut the price of 1,000 products by 50 percent from today, joining the likes of Marks & Spencer Group Plc in offering discounts to stoke Christmas purchases.

The sale, which lasts until Sunday, will include a variety of food, drink, toys and household goods, Bloomberg News reported.

"Customers are telling us that they are delaying their main Christmas purchases as they wait for bargains," said Richard Brasher, commercial director.

Retailers Marks & Spencer, Debenhams Plc, and Arcadia Group Ltd, the owner of fashion chain Topshop, have offered discounts of as much as 30 percent to revive sales in the run-up to Christmas. UK retail sales fell for a second month in November, the first consecutive drop since records began in 1995, the British Retail Consortium said in a report this week.