Tesco non-food format to build on Extra success
Supermarket confirms plans for home store trial
Tesco has confirmed plans to trial a new non-food store format this year, aiming to build on the success of the non-food offer in its Tesco Extra hypermarket format.
A spokeswoman for the UK’s biggest retailer told the Press Association news agency: “We will trial a non-food store at some point this year. We will just have to see how it goes.”
Tesco has not said where or when the new store would open, but is known to have agreed to acquire a number of the Big W out-of-town stores being disposed of by Woolworths. The new format is expected to focus on product ranges such as clothing, homeware. electrical goods, CDs and DVDs, all of which have proved successful for Tesco in its Extra stores.
The spokeswoman said: “Our non-food ranges are really popular and this is just an example of us doing what customers want and trialling new things.”
[img r]asdalivingentrance.jpg[/img]Tesco’s main rival, Wal-Mart owned Asda, opened the first of its own non-food stores, Asda Living, last year. However, some analysts with long memories have pointed out that Tesco was first into the market with a similar move 20 years ago, with a non-food brand called Tesco Home ‘n Wear.
While the format had limited success at the time, the growth of non-food sales in both Tesco and Asda, and in particular the greatly improved reputation of supermarket clothing brands, means the market has changed.
With the UK planning regime making permission for new supermarkets tough to obtain, the development of a non-food chain would also provide Tesco with another route to UK sales growth.
