An upbeat Tesco chairman John Gardiner told a shareholders meeting last week that sales in the group were continuing to rise, with further growth likely as its expansion plans came online. Gardiner revealed group sales in the first quarter of the financial year rose by 10.1%. He said: "This growth is driven by all elements of our strategy ­ the core UK, international expansion, our move into non foods and following the customer into new areas of spending such as the internet." Total UK sales for the 12 weeks ending May 20 were up 7.1%, while like for like sales rose 3.7%. Gardiner added: "We continue to see deflation in our core business resulting from our significant price cuts." {{NEWS }}

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