Tesco edges closer to Romania

UK supermarket chain Tesco could arrive in Romania in the coming years as part of its strategy to become the third leading player on the international retail segment by 2010, a study by the IGD consulting company shows. “The number of international markets on which Tesco is present has doubled in the last seven years from six to 13. Tesco is currently focusing its operations in China, Japan and Malaysia at the moment. Underdeveloped retail activities will be a very important factor in choosing future destinations,” say IGD analysts, who anticipate an entry of the British group on the Russian, Indonesian, Vietnamese and especially Eastern European markets, including Romania in the medium and long term. Tesco has been probing the Romanian market for a number of years now and its officials even hinted two years ago that they would open several stores in Western Romania as a natural extension of the group’s Hungarian business. ZF