www.first4farming.com  , 12 December 12, 2005

A pressure group has been launched which aims to change the direction and leadership of the NFU. The Better NFU organisation has been developed by Somerset dairy farmer Derek Mead, the Conservative Partys new environmental adviser Zac Goldsmith and Farmers For Action chairman David Handley. It aims to field its own candidates for the NFU presidential elactions, which are due to take place in February. The group claims that in other countries, farmers have political muscle and know how to use it to great effect. But it claims the NFU has refused to stand up to supermarket power and pursues the wrong agenda with government...read more...

Julia Finch, The Guardian, December 10, 2005

Supermarket chain Asda is to challenge Tesco's mounting dominance with a new chain of discount food stores across the country. Britain's second biggest grocery chain, which is part of the US Wal-Mart empire, will announce plans for hundreds of the new-look stores next week.

The stores will be a direct challenge to Tesco's Express and Sainsbury's Local convenience stores which have been so successful in recent years. This intensification of competition in the sector is also likely to reignite the debate over whether the big supermarket chains are changing the face of Britain's high streets - squeezing out small, local operators who are unable to match the buying power of the big chains...read more...

Sarah Butler, The Times, December 10, 2005

The Office of Fair Trading came under further pressure to recommend a full inquiry into the supermarket sector yesterday after new research revealed that Tesco is expected to become Britain’s largest convenience store retailer next year.

Tesco now has a 5.4 per cent share of the “neighbourhood stores” market, according to Verdict, the market research firm, and is the fastest-growing chain in the sector...read more...

Neil Long, www.mcuk.com, December 9, 2005

The Competition Commission has warned this week that supermarkets selling below cost price to generate footfall could face a fine of up to 10 per cent of the company’s annual turnover.
An extraordinary few weeks of price slashing and promotions have helped the supermarkets to claim almost a third of week one sales on some titles (MCV 2/12), and now the Office of Fair Trading is expected to make a decision on whether to kickstart a Competition Commission-led investigation into the supermarkets’ pricing practices in April...read more...

Eurofruit, November 2005

Tesco is set to double its UK presence simply by extending its existing stores

Tesco is set to double its presence in the UK over the next 10 years simply by extending its existing stores.
This remarkable assessment of the growth potential of the number one food retailer in Britain emerged last month after it posted a 14 per cent rise in half-year sales to £18.8bn (€27.7bn) and an 18.7 per cent leap in profits to £908m (€1.3bn).

Today, Tesco’s share of the UK market is the hot topic of the moment, not only among the competitors in its wake but also out there among the public at large. And it is going to becoming more of a problem for Tesco in future.

This article is taken from the October issue of Eurofruit Magazine. To order your copy, please write to subscriptions@fruitnet.com or call +44 20 7501 3700

RTE Business, December 6, 2005

RTE News has seen new figures which reveal the latest market share position for the supermarkets operating here.

The news figures show that Tesco had the biggest share of the Irish market in November with a figure of 26.3%, up 0.5% from the same time last year...read more...

www.foodanddrinkeurope.com December 2, 2005

The Slovak government has asked the European Commission to extend its inquiry into Tesco and Carrefour’s proposed supermarket swap, fuelling speculation of a burgeoning reluctance to give global retailers free rein in new markets.

Hopes of a quick changeover were dampened for Carrefour and Tesco, the world's second and third largest food retailers respectively, as the EU postponed the decision of its competition inquiry until December 23...read more...

Alistair Osborne and Stephen Seawright, The Telegraph, November 26, 2005 

Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, yesterday said third-quarter trading had slowed, hit by weaker consumer spending and stronger competition from rivals J Sainsbury and Wm Morrison...read more...

Leah Vyse, http://www.foodanddrinkeurope.com, November 24, 2005

German retailer Edeka is the latest Western European retailer to pull out of the highly competitive Czech Republic food market. The German retailer, which entered the Czech market in 1992, is preparing to sell its 38 outlets by mid 2006, citing reasons of limited growth opportunities because of tough competition. This follows the sale of stores by Carrefour and Julius Meinl to Tesco and Ahold in the last two months...read more...

Financial Times, November 24, 2005

The hunters are becoming the hunted. Discount food retailers have been snapping at the heels of the leading supermarket chains for years, and now take nearly half total sales in countries like Germany. But the rules of the game seem to be changing...read more...

www.startups.co.uk, November 23, 2005 

Over a third of small shop owners are buying goods from supermarkets and reselling it in their stores, a new study reveals.

In the survey by The Grocer, 36% of independent retailers admit to purchasing stock from supermarkets instead of wholesalers...read more...

The Herald, November 23, 2005
      
In retailing, as in the environment, "biodiversity" is a notion worth fighting for. A campaign launched this week by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Scotland starkly exposes the scale of the haemorrhage suffered by small retailers in recent years. ..read more...

www.first4farming.com,  November 23, 2005

Almost 50 people are quitting farming in Northern Ireland every week as low prices and red tape undermine the viability of many farm businesses.

The exodus is revealed in the latest June census results, which show that 2200 people left on-farm employment in the past 12 months and some 550 farms ceased to operate altogether.

The survey also underlines the general contraction of Northern Ireland farming, with significant declines seen in the area of crops grown and the number of livestock kept...read more...

Trevor Datson, http://www.tiscali.co.uk, November 22, 2005

Britain’s top retailer, Tesco, declined to comment on Tuesday on press reports it was poised to take a 49 percent stake in U.S. foodseller Meijer, but said it had never ruled out a North American deal.

Trade journal The Grocer said Tesco, due to report its third-quarter trading figures on Friday, would pay 2.5 billion pounds for the stake in the family-owned, Michigan-based grocery and general merchandise operation...read more...

Jackie Lin, Taipei Times, November 21, 2005

With Taiwan having given the nod to the asset swap on Thursday, the two companies are now awaiting a decision by the Czech Republic and Slovakia

The first asset-swap deal between two global retail groups obtained the government's approval last Thursday, allowing Carrefour SA to take over Tesco Plc's business operations in the nation.

To complete the deal, a green light must also be given by the fair trade commissions of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where Carrefour plans to hand over its 15 outlets to the British retailer...read more...

Nick Mathiason, The Observer, November 20, 2005

The supermarket industry should have a dedicated regulator, according to the GMB union. This body would gauge supermarkets' effect on local communities and check whether they are abusing workers' rights.

The GMB, which represents supermarket warehouse workers, says a new regulator should be able to intervene if it can prove that supermarkets are damaging local businesses. 'Supermarkets are absolute predators,' said GMB acting general secretary Paul Kenny. 'They want to eliminate all opposition, and the impact of this is damaging communities and town centres.'...read more...

The Guardian, November 17, 2005

The British High Commissioner's appeal to India to open up its retail market to large supermarkets such as Tesco (UK urges India to welcome in supermarkets, November 15) is part of a broader push by the UK and EU to gain access to developing country markets for European companies. However, in the UK, we are seeing increasing concern over the negative effects of supermarkets on competition, local stores and the prices received by producers (Letters, November 14)...read more...

NFUS, November 17, 2005

The Scottish Parliament’s Environment and Rural Development Committee has agreed to conduct an inquiry into supermarket power.   This decision follows a series of meetings between NFUS and MSPs...read more...

Fordyce Maxwell, The Scotsman, November 17, 2005

A SCOTTISH parliamentary committee is to hold an inquiry into supermarket power, with special reference to milk prices.

The decision, taken yesterday by Holyrood's environment and rural development committee, came a day after rural affairs minister Ross Finnie defended the role of supermarkets while admitting there were some abuses of buying power...read more...

Sharewatch, November 16, 2005  

Britain''s biggest supermarket chain Tesco PLC saw its dominant share of the UK grocery market fall over the autumn, while rival William Morrison Supermarkets PLC gained ground, according to a closely watched survey.

The latest study by market researchers Taylor Nelson Sofres shows that Tesco''s share of the market fell to 30.2 pct in the 12 weeks to Nov 6, down from an all-time high of 30.5 pct in the 12 weeks to Aug 14...read more...

 Sarah Butler, The Times,  November 16, 2005

JOHN FINGLETON, chief executive of the Office of Fair Trading, dashed hopes that he would come to the aid of small shopkeepers competing against large supermarkets yesterday by insisting that his role was to “protect competition not competitors”.

Giving evidence to an allparty group of MPs holding an inquiry into the future of retailing on the high street, he said: “It is not the role of the competition authorities to protect businesses that do not respond effectively to the demands of consumers, or more generally to protect less efficient or less competitive business from the rigours of the market.” ...read more...

The Leader, The Guardian, November 16, 2005

Tesco is one of the UK's mighty success stories. Nothing seems able to stop its expansion, whether abroad, where it is now negotiating to break into India, or at home, where it has over 30% of the grocery sector and is opening convenience stores at such speed that opposition is springing up from powerful sources. Small businesses are angry at the way corner shops have been disappearing at the rate of 2,000 a year; farmers are bitter at an alleged squeeze on the prices they get; even Wal-Mart, the biggest company in the world, is crying "foul". John Bridgeman, a former head of the Office of Fair Trading, who cleared the supermarkets of abusing their market power in 2000, has changed his mind and is calling for a fresh inquiry. The only people not complaining are customers flocking into town-based convenience stores to pay low prices at late hours...read more...

Belfast Telegraph, November 16, 2005

Northern Ireland farmers want to know why there is a "glaring gap" between farm gate product prices and those that consumers pay at the supermarket checkouts.

The Ulster Farmers' Union, in a strong challenge to the major multiples, claim there is a huge mark up in prices...read more...

The Retail Bulletin, November 15, 2005

Statement by OFT Chief Executive to All Party Small Shops Group Inquiry

John Fingleton, OFT Chief Executive, today appeared before the All Party Small Shops Group inquiry into small shops at which he made the following opening statement...read more...

 Alistair Osborne and Harry Wallop, The Daily Telegraph, November 15, 2005 

Tesco is lobbying for permission to open its first supermarkets in India to cater for the country's burgeoning middle class, which is growing by 20m people a year...read more...

Daniel McLaughlin, The Observer, November 13, 2005

After deriding homosexuals and backing the death penalty on the way to winning last month's general election, Poland's new conservative, staunchly Catholic government has a new target in its sights: Tesco.

The Law and Justice Party, which is prescribing 'moral revolution' for a Poland sickened by political sleaze and 18 per cent unemployment, is threatening to halt the construction of big supermarkets and stop existing ones opening on Sundays...read more...

Graham Searjeant, The Times, November 12, 2005

Many top British companies deserve to be admired. We prefer to knock them or flog them. One admirable big company, the plasterboard multinational BPB, now finds itself in a battle to fight off a cheap money takeover. It is receiving scant public support...read more...

Julia Finch, The Guardian, November 12, 2005

The supermarket's dominance of the market should be the focus of a full-scale competition inquiry. Shoppers across the UK will head off today to their high streets, retail parks and local stores to restock the fridge or pick up a few essentials. They might buy a few CDs or DVDs, maybe a book or two, a new outfit or a kitchen appliance. And more than £1 out of every £8 they spend today - in every shop in every shopping centre - will go into the tills of Tesco...read more...

The Inverness Courier, November 11, 2005

THE news that Inverness is tops for Tesco, netting a 51 per cent market share of food sales, has led to calls for a new probe into how supermarkets are squeezing small farmers and killing off corner shops.

The latest figures from market analysts CACI show that Tesco now has the largest share of the grocery market in 67 of 120 postal districts. Inverness is the leagueleader with 51 per cent, followed by Milton Keynes, with 50 per cent...read more...

www.newbusiness.co.uk, November 11, 2005

Pressure is mounting on the government, the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission to regulate the power of Tesco following the recent ruling by the Court of Appeal in favour of the Association of Convenience Stores. The UK’s small business community is uniting to tackle the growing threat to small shopkeepers and their suppliers posed by the retail might of Tesco...read more...

Felicity Lawrence, The Guardian, November 10, 2005

The former boss of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has called for a new investigation into the way supermarkets dominate food retailing in Britain...read more...

John Bowker, The Scotsman, November 7, 2005

TESCO is facing a renewed threat to its dominance of the grocery market this week as the Office of Fair Trading begins its "reconsideration" of whether to refer the supermarket giant to the Competition Commission.

A decision to call for an inquiry could eventually force Tesco to divest stores - particularly in the convenience store sector. A variety of MPs, retailers and think-tanks are calling for the measure to be considered, and Labour MP Jim Dowd is chairing a parliamentary inquiry into the issue...read more...

 James Hall, The Telegraph, November 6, 2005

The prospect of a new Government inquiry into the big four supermarkets' dominance of the retail sector is growing after the Office of Fair Trading said it will give evidence to a group of MPs investigating the balance of power on the high street.

John Fingleton, the new chief executive of the OFT, will make a submission in person to the All Party Small Shops Group's ongoing probe into retail trends. Until last week, the OFT had declined the All Party Group's invitation to give evidence...read more...

Nick Mathiason, The Observer, November 6, 2005

They've crushed the competition. But now Tesco is facing its biggest-ever challenge. Everywhere it looks, Britain's biggest retailer has enemies. Not only are they growing by the day, but there's a fair chance they will succeed in cutting the giant down to size...read more...

Julia Kollewe, The Independent, November 5, 2005

The supermarket chain Tesco, which is being targeted by critics who dislike its rapid expansion, could double the number of local Express stores over the next decade if current consumption trends continue...read more...

Charles Clover, The Daily Telegraph, November 3, 2005

There is something a trifle annoying about the idea of a farmers' strike however much one may care for the countryside, or for the plight of farming. A farmer is both worker and the boss, so it is difficult for him to strike against himself. Even if he is just a farm worker, he can't very easily take the day off and leave the cows unmilked without bringing misery to his livestock and ending up in court for neglect...read more...

Sarah Butler, The Times, November 2, 2005

THE fair trading watchdog was heavily criticised by an appeals tribunal judge yesterday as he ordered the regulator urgently to reconsider its decision on whether to recommend a full inquiry into the grocery market.

Sir Christopher Bellamy, president of the Competition Appeals Tribunal, told the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) that its intention to take a further eight months to decide whether a full inquiry into the grocery market was necessary was "unreasonable." ...read more...

Jill Treanor, The Guardian, November 2, 2005

A full Competition Commission investigation into the grocery market was in prospect last night after the Office of Fair Trading was told to consider a possible referral of the sector to the watchdog as quickly as possible.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal, which had been hearing a case brought by the Association of Convenience Stores, was told by the OFT that a decision on whether to recommend a referral to the commission would take eight months...read more...

Dan Newling, Daily Mail, October 31, 2005

When John Caldow decided to take on the mighty Tesco, he did it armed with nothing more than a chair, a cup of tea and a newspaper.

Fed up with the chain's massive delivery lorries performing threepoint turns inches from his door, the 54-year-old trader from Manningtree in Essex took direct action...read more...

The Observer, October 30, 2005

Supermarket giant Tesco is bracing itself for a regulatory onslaught following the decision by the Office of Fair Trading to re-open a probe into the group's dominant position in the British grocery business...read more...

Richard Fletcher, The Sunday Times, October 30, 2005

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will be grilled in court this week over its controversial about-turn last week on supermarket competition.

On Friday the OFT wrote to the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), indicating that it wanted to reconsider its refusal to investigate the grocery market and the power of Britain's big four supermarkets - Tesco, J Sainsbury, Asda and Wm Morrison...read more...

Sarah Butler, The Times, October 29, 2005

The dominance of Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket chain, came under threat yesterday when the Office of Fair Trading threw a lifeline to small retailers by admitting that it had made mistakes in an 18-month inquiry.

The OFT said that it would reconsider whether to recommend another competition inquiry into the grocery market. Such an inquiry is likely to concentrate on the role of Tesco, which controls 30.3 per cent of the £80 billion UK supermarket grocery market...read more....

Simon de Bruxelles, The Times, October 20, 2005

Supermarkets, already under fire from MPs, have a new and perhaps more formidable opponent in the shape of 4,500 members of the Women's Institute.

On the day that an all-party parliamentary inquiry opened into the impact of supermarkets on Britain's high streets, members of the Women's Institute in Cornwall voted with their country shoe-clad feet...read more...

The Guardian, October 17, 2005

Roy Greenslade's experience (The fourth estate's big fear, October 10) at his local Tesco stores on a Saturday morning is not unique...read more...

The Sunday Mirror, October 9, 2005

The Government has been too timid in its failure to take on big business. As a result profits of banks and supermarkets have soared to obscene levels. Big isn't necessarily beautiful.

So the cautious suggestion that ministers are to order an inquiry into Tesco's domination of Britain's High Street is to be welcomed. After all, every little helps....read more...

Vincent Moss, October 9, 2005

MINISTERS are set to hold TWO top-level probes into Tesco's high street domination.

The move comes amid fears the retail giant - where shoppers spend £1 in every £7 - has a stranglehold over suppliers and is forcing some smaller shops out of business....read more...

Sarah Butler, The Times, October 07, 2005

Tesco and other big supermarkets are expected to challenge a push by convenience stores to have the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) start a new inquiry into the grocery market...read more...

Fighting for private businesses (FPB), October 3, 2005

The FPB is demanding that the Government launches an inquiry into the supermarkets' monopoly of the retail market after it emerged Tesco is to open its first non-food store - Tesco Homeplus - in Manchester this month.

The Forum said the Government could no longer turn a blind eye to the crisis on the British high street which has lost 20,000 independent shops since 1997 at a rate of 50 a week...visit www.fpb.co.uk for more...

Patience Wheatcroft, the Times, September 29, 2005

THOSE gathered in the Empress Room at Brighton's Grand Hotel yesterday lunchtime did not look a particularly dangerous bunch. Admittedly, they were vigorous in their attack on the sandwiches and samosas on offer, but they did not appear to pose a threat to a government minister. Yet Gerry Sutcliffe, having bravely ventured on to the platform, confessed: "Officials at the DTI were very concerned about me doing this meeting."...read more...

Third Sector, September 28, 2005

Friends of the Earth is calling on the UK Competition Commission to halt Tesco's "uncontrolled expansion", after the retail giant announced a record 18.7 per cent rise in pre-tax profits last week...read more...

Nick Mathiason, The Observer, September 25, 2005

Britain's biggest supermarket, Tesco, is being accused of trampling over local councils when pushing through its retail developments. Nick Mathiason reports.

Has Tesco got Britain's planning system in its pocket? As the supermarket posted another set of record-breaking results last week, evidence seen by The Observer appears to show that the country's most powerful retailer is routinely pushing Britain's planning system to breaking point...read more...

Nick Mathiason, The Observer, September 25, 2005

The government is considering another wide-ranging investigation into supermarkets, five years after the last inquiry was widely slated for being toothless.

The Department of Trade and Industry will make a statement early next year on whether the power of supermarkets is harming suppliers and independent businesses that struggle against the billion-pound retail giants...read more...

Andrew Simms, The Observer, September 25, 2005

The chain is draining our local communities, says long-time Tesco critic Andrew Simms. 'Wherever something is wrong, something is too big,' wrote Leopold Kohr in The Breakdown of Nations. He couldn't have imagined in the 1950s that, half a century later, high street grocers would have grown to dwarf whole countries..read more...

Judith Woods, The Daily Telegraph, September 23, 2005

News that Tesco profits have yet again broken all records has, I confess, left me feeling rather uneasy. The chain, now one of the most successful in the world, takes £1 in every three spent at British supermarkets, although it has expanded into so many areas that humble groceries will soon be the least of its concerns. The latest revelation is that profits rose by more than £140million over the past six months, up 18.7 per cent on the same period last year, making it likely that Tesco will rake in a staggering £2.3 billion for the full year...read more...

Richard Colwill, The Times, September 22, 2005

High street shops and suppliers are paying a "huge price" for the continuing success of Tesco, according to the Forum of Private Business.

Tesco announced half-year pre-tax profits of £908 million earlier this week. The figures followed on from the announcement in April of full-year profits of £2 billion. The latest figures suggest that Tesco is making £60 profit every second, even when its stores are closed...read more...

Richard Fletcher, The Sunday Times, September 18, 2005

As the supermarket giant prepares to unveil record interim results, we reveal its plans to dominate Britain with 185 more stores that could drive its market share up to 45%.

The 25,000 tonnes of earth, rubble and ash have now been removed from the track at Gerrards Cross and the commuter trains that daily carry thousands of passengers into London Marylebone are running again...read more...

James Hall, The Sunday Telegraph, September 18, 2005 

Tesco, the country's largest retailer, will create 7,500 new jobs between now and February as it opens new stores and expands its growing non-food product areas...read more...

The Retail Bulletin, September 14, 2005

A lawsuit accuses Wal-Mart Stores of failing to monitor labour conditions at overseas factories that allegedly maintained sweatshop conditions.
The suit filed Tuesday seeks class-action status and claims Southern California grocery workers were harmed because Wal-Mart's low prices - made possible by alleged substandard overseas factories - force competing grocery chains to cut wages and benefits...read more...

Tesco today announced that it hopes to buy 30 former Safeway stores located on BP forecourts from William Morrisons, in a deal worth around £55 million.

The move is the latest is the general rationalisation of the Morrisons chain since its £3 billion takeover of Safeway in March 2004...read more...

The increasing dominance of Tesco in Britain needs to be probed by the government, Lee Scott, president and chief executive of Wal-Mart has declared. ...read more...

It takes one to know one, and Lee Scott, president and chief executive of Wal-Mart, has for a long time been the American supermarket industry's enemy No1. Just too big, powerful and arrogant, say unions, suppliers and non-customers ...read more...

Fuel was poured on the bitter dispute over value for money between Tesco and Asda yesterday as a new price study by bankers found the bigger grocer to be Britain's cheapest supermarket. ...read more...

The expansion of Tesco superstores into smaller towns across the UK is encountering cross-party political opposition following allegations of possible irregularities in the planning process.

Local opponents of new supermarkets have written to the Royal Town Planning Institute (RPTI), a professional body for planners, with allegations of three instances in Scotland and North England of a potential conflict of interest...read more...

The future of a still unbuilt Tesco superstore where building work caused the collapse of a rail tunnel seven weeks ago is in doubt as the company faces an compensation bill of over £8.5m and the Health and Safety Executive investigates what went wrong.

The tunnel in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, collapsed under the weight of soil which had been loaded on top to create a flat surface for the supermarket and its car park...read more...

Tesco and Network Rail are at loggerheads over plans to reopen the commuter railway line that runs through Gerrards Cross, after a tunnel built by the supermarket company collapsed on to the track there.

Officials at the railway network operator have queried technical plans submitted last week by Tesco and its engineers. The disagreement threatens to prolong the disruption suffered by thousands of travellers since the accident six weeks ago...read more...

THE NFU has accused Tesco of displaying contempt for farmers after the UK's biggest retailer revealed it had no intention of signing up to the proposed voluntary Buyers' Charter. Tesco's main rivals, Sainsbury's and Asda, also indicated this week that they were unlikely to support the proposal.

This comes as a major blow to the NFU, which has put considerable effort and resources into developing a voluntary Charter that would cover relationships throughout the food chain. It believes this could offer farmers the protection the supermarket Code of Practice is currently failing to deliver...read more...

After being paid poverty wages for backbreaking work, bullying by management finally got too much. Two of the workers have already been sacked and the rest are supporting them by refusing to work. Solidarity actions that took place across England and Scotland on 4 August...read more...

UK supermarket group Somerfield may be forced by the Competition Commission to sell 14 of the local stores it bought from rival grocer Morrisons. Morrisons sold the outlets following its acquisition of supermarket chain Safeway in 2004, as it only wanted to run larger stores...read more...

SHOPPERS are abandoning traditional retailers in favour of supermarkets and catalogue shops when hunting for homewares, a survey has found. A report by market research group Verdict shows that department stores and specialist retailers have lost sales in the past five years as rivals plunder their markets.read more.

Tesco. The dominant, all-embracing UK retailer is ripe for a fall. Tesco is everywhere you look. It dominates the high streets, is a presence on most out of town shopping centres, and its vertical blue-and-white striped logo is increasingly seen on suburban convenience stores.

Most of us have heard the refrain that £1 in every eight spent by British consumers goes through a Tesco till...read more..

Market leader passes key milestone

Tesco's share of the UK grocery market has passed 30 per cent for the first time...read more...

Tesco, Britain's leading supermarket, today showed its competitors a clear pair of heels as it reported strong sales growth. In the 12 weeks to May 21, the supermarket chain reported a 6.8% rise in same-store sales, excluding fuel, in what it described as a tough and slowing market...read more...

Following the Office of Fair Trading's decision to allow Tesco to take over more than 800 convenience stores and the Competition Commission's consistent dismissal of concerns that the big supermarket companies are squeezing farmers and are too powerful, the fact that regulators are limiting the expansion of discount retailers is likely to raise further questions about their conduct...read more...

Britain, according to Napoleon, is a nation of shopkeepers, but are we falling out of love with our most prominent shops? The supermarket chains have been getting a bad press recently. A report by the New Economics Foundation has accused them (among others) of turning Britain's high streets into clones. Consumers are starting to notice the lack of local produce and the disappearance of small local shops.....read more...

The New Economics Foundation, a think-tank with links to the Treasury, has proposed that Tesco should be broken up, arguing that the huge scale of the UK's biggest retailer is damaging communities and local enterprise...read more...

Tesco is to launch a standalone non-food format, with two Tesco Homeplus stores scheduled to open later this year. Tesco Homeplus aims to increase sales of non-food lines, which have been the fastest growing area for the UK's biggest retailer over recent years. The stores will offer the non-food product range from the Tesco Extra hypermarket format.

The first stores will open in Manchester and Aberdeen later this year. Tesco marketing director Tim Mason said: "We know that our customers love the convenience of a one-stop shop and our priority will always be to provide this by selling non-food and food under the one roof. ...read more...

Tesco has agreed to raise the retail price for cheese after months of pressure from farmers groups, according to several industry sources. The supermarket refused to comment, but Tom Hind, the NFU?s chief dairy adviser, said that the retailer was hoping to return 1.5p/litre to producers whose milk went into its cheese. He warned farmers not to expect an immediate 1.5p/litre rise across the board. Mr Hind said: "We're pretty pleased about it. It?s very courageous of Tesco to go out on a limb. "We want a period of long-term stability and don?t want the rest of the industry ruining it by churning out more cheese and oversupplying the market." Asda were also poised to make a similar announcement, he said, and the rest of the retailers should soon follow suit. ...read more...

Tesco is to start opening stores that do not sell any food. Britain's biggest grocer announced today that it is to begin trials of Tesco Homeplus outlets in October. The pilot stores will be in Aberdeen and Manchester but the format will be adopted elsewhere if successful. ...read more...

Sean Poulter, Consumer Affairs Correspondent, Daily Mail, 21 April 2005

A ROAD haulier has revealed that he was paid outstanding debts by Tesco only after being forced to mount a lorry blockade at the company's headquarters. 

At one stage, Richard Wild faced bankruptcy and losing his business over invoices for around £400,000. He claims he was also bullied and intimidated by Tesco executives simply for asking for the bills to be settled. ...read more...

TESCO has become the first UK retailer to post profits of more than £2bn. The company, which now accounts for almost one pound in three spent in Britain's supermarkets, saw profits soar to £2.029bn, up 24% on
a year earlier and in line with the City's expectation. ...read more...

In the past five years, Tesco has doubled both its sales and profits. Figures announced yesterday confirm that last year pre-tax profits finally broke through the £2bn barrier, a retailing first which seems fully to justify Sir Terry Leahy's position as one of Britain's most accomplished chief executives. More than one pound in every eight now goes through a Tesco till. Hurrah. But enough of the plaudits, the job of a professional cynic like me is to identify the fault lines and to assess for how much longer Tesco can sustain this remarkable performance. ...read more...

Tesco today began a £54 million push into some of London's richest neighbourhoods when it snapped up the Cullens, Europa and Harts grocery chains. All 45 shops will be rebranded Tesco Express in a highly aggressive move into the capital's high streets. ...read more...

TESCO is set to reveal a record £2bn profit next week. The supermarket giant will be the first retailer in Britain to break the £2bn barrier - joining an elite club of the world's most successful companies. However, the figures will enrage campaigners who argue that Tesco's dominance is damaging the country's farming communities and high streets. ...read more...

Women fruit pickers in South Africa endure 'pitiful conditions', says report

Britain's biggest supermarket, Tesco, will face searching questions this week over its treatment of foreign employees following allegations that thousands of women workers suffered 'appalling' conditions. As the chain prepares to announce record profits of more than £2 billion on Tuesday, equivalent to more than £250,000 an hour, campaigners are demanding that the massive buying power of major supermarkets is brought under control. An investigation by ActionAid found that women workers in South Africa who grow fruit sold in Tesco endured poor wages and pitiful conditions. ...read more...

The wealth of supermarkets is built on monopoly, exploitation and restriction of choice Every year the list is the same, but every year it still comes as a shock. Of the 10 richest people on Earth, five of them have the same surname. It's not Gates, or Murdoch, or Rockefeller, but Walton. They are the heirs and trustees of the supermarket chain Wal-Mart. And between them they are worth $100bn. ...read more...

The board of Tesco, led by chief executive Sir Terry Leahy, is to share in an £11m bonus and share bonanza - just as the supermarket chain has removed staff's sick pay for the first three days in some stores. The lavish rewards coincide with the GMB union releasing figures which it says show that Tesco workers would have to work 79 hours a week to achieve the national average wage. ...read more...

Felicity Lawrence, The Guardian, 5 March 2005

It ought to have been a joyous announcement for someone like me who buys Fairtrade coffee and uses the swirly Fairtrade logo on Green and Black's chocolate bars to justify regular indulgence. At last Tesco was introducing a Fairtrade rose that would remove the guilt from Mother's Day. ...reead more...

Some of the foods in Tesco's healthy eating range may need to be relabelled because of the amount of salt, sugar and fat they contain, it emerged yesterday. ...read more...

The eight men who run Tesco earned £26m between them last year - more than any other board of directors in the FTSE 100. According to the annual Guardian survey of boardroom pay, the Tesco eight together earn nearly five times more than the £5.8m average for a top 100 boardroom. ...read more...