While analysts and investors were pleased with Tesco PLC’s (LSE: TSCO) latest results, outside the City of London, the reaction was less positive.
The company’s profit of £2.63bn was deemed “astonishing corporate greed,” and there were calls for the supermarket to do more to make food affordable for consumers who are struggling.
Supermarket price inflation has been rising, hitting a record 17.5% last month, with the bulk of the increase being passed on to customers. While Tesco management claims that this is a sign that the market is “rational,” critics argue that the supermarket and other major chains could be doing more to help their customers.
Sue Davies, head of food policy at consumer group Which? suggested that supermarkets should make pricing clearer and more transparent, particularly with Clubcard offers, to enable consumers to compare prices easily. She also pointed out that Tesco and other major supermarkets are doing well during the cost of living crisis, while many of their customers are struggling to put food on the table.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite trade Union, described Tesco’s profits as “excessive profiteering fired up by astonishing corporate greed.” She argued that such rampant profiteering is driving inflation, cranking up the cost of living crisis for workers and their families, and making it difficult for millions of people to feed their families.
