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Tesco to take road to Russia
Evening Standard 28 Mar 2008
Supermarkets chain Tesco is planning to open its first stores in Russia, estate agents have confirmed.
Jeff Kershaw, senior director at the Moscow office of CB Richard Ellis, told Bloomberg that Tesco is looking for ways to hit the fast- growing market, while two other estate agents said the firm has been scouting for possible store sites.
Tesco has been successful in emerging markets from Turkey to Malaysia and Thailand, and now makes more than a quarter of all sales outside the UK.
In Russia, it would come up against the country's largest supermarkets owner, X5 Retail Group, as well as Germany's Metro and France's Carrefour.
The market is believed to be worth some $191 billion (£59.26 billion), and has grown by a massive 32% in the past year.
Tesco has said in the past that it has been considering entering Russia since at least 2005 and has also looked at potential franchise partners in the country, including a deal with X5, sources in Moscow said.
