Tesco 'Missing Out' On Cross-Border Shoppers

Tesco - while making £billions in the UK - is having a harder time in the Republic of Ireland.

According to an internal memo obtained by a grocery trade journal, Tesco is being forced to cut prices in the Republic, and the supermarket giant is concerned that like-for-like sales are "well below expectations".

Cross-border shopping is damaging Tesco's brand, said Retail Intelligence. It has reported goods such as household products and beauty items as being particularly affected.

Tesco posted the highest profits on record for a UK retailer today, but in the memo, it said sales lost by Tesco stores in the Republic were not being recouped because the company does not have a strong presence in border towns such as Newry and Enniskillen where rivals like Sainsbury and Asda have benefited from the southern exodus.

The effect on the Irish economy of shoppers heading North was acknowledged in an emergency budget earlier this month, when duties on petrol and alcohol were unchanged in an attempt to stem the tide of shoppers taking their business across the border.

Tesco reported annual pre-tax profits of £3.13bn, an improvement of 10% on the previous year.

However, the supermarket chain did not give a detailed breakdown of its performance in the Republic, but it did say business had been helped by favourable movements in the euro-sterling exchange rate.

Cross-border shopping - encouraged by the strength of the euro - has seen an estimated 4% of the total market move across the border.

See: Tesco Profits Soar Past £3bn

(BMcC/KMcA)