'We're continuing to invest. We're going to be opening more new shops in the year ahead, probably as many as 10,000 new jobs in the UK in the next 12 months,' finance director Andrew Higginson told BBC radio.

'We're trying to hold the strategy in tact at a time when we're obviously having to manage and navigate our way through very difficult economic times,' he added.

Group sales grew by 11.6 per cent in the crucial run-up to Christmas, but increased by only 2.5 per cent on an annual basis in Britain, excluding petrol and on a like-for-like basis that strips out the effect of new floor space.

Mr Higginson said the British sales figure was the weakest 'probably since the last recession' in the 1990s.

But he added: 'In a price sense we are very competitive in the market now ... so we are happy with our position.'

It also emerged on Tuesday that British retailers suffered their worst December for 14 years as consumers tighten their belts in the face of a looming recession, according to a survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

The supermarket's trading statement said group sales increased by 11.6 per cent during the seven weeks to 10 January 2009, 'driven by continued rapid international expansion and steady growth in the UK.'

International sales soared by 32.7 per cent, with Europe up 24 per cent and Asia gaining 43 per cent, the group said.

'This growth is against the background of challenging trading conditions in all of our markets caused by the global economic slowdown,' the company said.

In the United States, where Tesco launched a chain of small food stores in 2007 under the 'Fresh & Easy' banner, sales growth was also strong across its 28 branches.

'Fresh & Easy has been coping well with a severe downturn in the West Coast markets in which it trades,' Tesco added.

'Like-for-like growth is strongly double-digit for the 28 stores which have now been open more than a year.'

Tesco is the world's third-biggest retailer. US giant Wal-Mart is the largest, followed by French group Carrefour.

British retail industry body the BRC said on Tuesday that like-for-like sales in the sector fell 3.3 per cent last month compared with December 2007, according to its KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.

A number of high-profile British retailers have disappeared in recent weeks as the country stands on the brink of recession.

General retailer Woolworths last week closed the doors on a century of trading, while clothing-to-food retailer Marks & Spencer announced it would cut up to 1,230 jobs and shut 27 stores.

Tesco will publish its 2008/2009 annual results on April 21. The group's financial year runs until the end of February. -- AFP