Tenth Tesco set to open in Reading

Tesco's relentless invasion of Reading is set to continue when it opens its 10th store in the town.


A new Tesco Express, based in the building in Market Place will open in February. The shop’s fit-out will begin immediately after Tesco bosses signed a 15-year lease on the 3,025 ft ground floor and 1,715 ft basement site.

Why do our Council let Tesco take over the town? Is there no limit to their expansion? Watch the small shops close, so the choice for customers becomes less good. When only supermarkets and a few specialist shops remain, will the council think it a good thing?

Tesco now controls over 30% of the grocery market in the UK. In 2009, the supermarket chain announced profits of over £3bn. Growing evidence indicates that Tesco's success is partly based on trading practices that are having serious consequences for suppliers, farmers and workers worldwide, local shops and the environment.

The Competition Commission had investigated Tesco last year after a two-year inquiry into the grocery sector and introduced a 'competition test'. It would have meant that permission for a new supermarket would be subject to a retailer’s existing market share in the area – based on data provided by the Office of Fair Trading. Tesco appealed and won, they can always hire the best lawyers. Tesco has a huge pipeline of properties that it hopes to turn into supermarkets and convenience stores to add to its more than 2,000 outlets. It says it will add 2 million sq ft (186,000 sq m) to its floorspace by April 2010.

Tesco’s win is a blow to some of its rivals, who had made submissions to backing the commission, which said it would study the ruling before deciding its next step. A commission remedy based on a market investigation has never previously been successfully challenged. Every little hurts.