Booker’s core like for like retail sales fell annually by 0.4% to £1.17bn, with the “ending of a lower margin national account in August” and declining tobacco sales was blamed for the drop.
Responding about the performance in a trading update, Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy said: “The underlying performance of our core catering and retail businesses were really strong. We also obviously saw the ending of a large national account, which impacted retail sales, but in real terms, I’m really pleased with Booker’s performance.
“I think they [Booker] continue to take share during the quarter, even though we don’t have a reliable source of market share data in wholesaling. Looking forward, I think that Booker will continue to be incredibly competitive and it has shown some great successes. It has just opened its 5,000th Premier account.
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“Premier is typically outgrowing the rest of the market materially. Clearly the market outlook is challenging, but I am quite confident that Booker will perform strongly within the market.”
Murphy also confirmed digital media screens are to be launched in Booker depots, as well as symbol and One Stop stores. These will be similar to the displays installed throughout Tesco stores.
He explained: “It is designed to offer our suppliers an opportunity to buy media in our branches. It’s as simple as that. Initially it will be in Booker cash and carries but we will be looking to work with our retail partners in time.”
