London — Britain’s largest supermarket, Tesco, bucked a grim start to the year for the retail sector with a 28% annual profit surge, underlining CE Dave Lewis’s recovery strategy of lower prices and streamlined product ranges. Tesco’s share price rose to 6.3% on Wednesday after it confirmed its medium-term savings and profit targets and said that the integration of wholesaler Booker, purchased for £4bn in March, was well under way. The deal will allow Tesco to expand to provide food to restaurants, bars and smaller grocers, while about £200m in annual synergies are targeted within three years. Tesco’s results provided some cheer after Britain’s brutal trading conditions plunged Toys R Us UK, electricals group Maplin and drinks wholesaler Conviviality into administration and forced fashion retailer New Look and floor coverings firm Carpetright to close stores. Tesco remains the largest of Britain’s supermarkets by a clear margin, having a market share of 27.6%. It is also the fastest...
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