"Will you resign if you don't achieve them [targets] or will we have to vote you out?" he asked at a confrontational annual meeting in Cardiff. Tesco's chairman, Sir Richard Broadbent, said Clarke was "evidently one of the best retailers in the world" and said there was "absolutely no prospect" of him resigning. Broadbent added that Tesco was "not hiding anything at all at Fresh & Easy". Earlier this year, Clarke said he did not expect the US chain to break even until its 2013/14 financial year – a year later than its previous target. This month, Tesco reported that underlying sales growth at Fresh & Easy slowed to 3.6% in its first quarter compared with 12.3% in the fourth quarter of last year. Shareholders also attacked the company for its dire performance in the UK, which led to a shock profits warning – its first in decades – just after Christmas. Broadbent admitted it had been a tough year, and said the board was acutely aware that Tesco's shares have lost more than 20% of their value so far this year.