Tesco's British sales slide worsens

A woman pushes a pram out of a Tesco store in London April 18, 2012. Tesco, the world's No.3 retailer, fell 3.8% in its fiscal first quarter, hurt by price cuts and a weak food market - Reuters Photo.

LONDON: Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, posted the worst quarterly drop in underlying sales in its key home market since Chief Executive Phil Clarke took the helm in 2011, raising questions over his strategy.

Clarke is two years into a multi-billion pounds turnaround plan for its British business, which contributes two-thirds of sales and profit for the group, the world's third largest retailer after Wal-Mart and Carrefour.