Tesco has announced plans to close 13 loss-making stores in Poland, with the retailer citing Sunday trading regulations among the reasons for its decision to streamline its operations there.
As well as closing the stores, which will bring the retailer's store count down to 399, Tesco will also streamline operations in areas not related to customer service, according to Polish trade journal Dla Handlu.
'Never Easy'
The publication quoted Martin Behan, Tesco Poland managing director, as saying that while the "decision to close stores is never easy", Tesco is continuously analysing its operating model and needs to ensure that all stores meet a defined break-even point.
The liquidation of unprofitable stores is a permanent element of business processes in a trading company," Behan said.
The store closures will be in Bytom Karpacka, Chorzów Graniczna, Gliwice Wielicka, Hrubieszów Dworcowa, Jelenia Góra Wolności, Kalisz Legionów, Knurów Szpitalna, Piaseczno Kusocińskiego, Poznań Mrągowska, Sieradz Wojska Polskiego, Strzelin Mickiewicza, Września Kaliska and Żory Malinowa, Dla Handlu reported.
Changing Retail Landscape
Elsewhere, Matt Simister, Tesco president for Central Europe, said that while Poland is a "very important market" for Tesco, the retail sector there is "changing dynamically, including limiting trade on Sundays, which means we need to speed up our plans to simplify business and focus on what matters most to customers".
Simister added that the group is seeking to streamline its offering around the key products and categories most in demand in its stores.
Tesco posted revenues of around PLN 10.6 billion (€2.48 billion) in Poland last year.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
