Tesco embarks on Asian adventure

Tesco

British expats in Asia could soon be saying hello to a familiar face, as UK supermarket giant Tesco, currently placed as the third largest retailer in the world, is set to launch an offensive against its rivals by expanding into Asia.

According to projections by the international food and grocery analysers IGD such a move will increase Tesco's sales by an annual rate of 7.5 percent.

If these figures pan out the Tesco will outpace the growth of American behemoth Wal-Mart, the worlds largest retailer, and also that of Carrefour, the second largest retailer.

However, despite Tesco's growth the the companies in front will still maintain better sales, expected to be around 402 billion euros and 122 billion euros respectively.

Tesco's assault on the Asian market will begin with a massive expansion in China that will see the company double their presence and quadruple their revenue.

Interestingly, while UK expats in China welcome a familiar retail face, the store themselves will cater more for the home market, leading expats to lament the lack of UK goods. Brit expat William Van Bergen said: “Tesco is very much catering to the local market, which is probably the right thing to do, as there are a lot more of them, but it would be nice to have Tesco’s Finest sausages from home. With nigh on a million foreigners and the increasing affluence of the locals living in Shanghai, I don’t think it would go amiss.”