Future unknown for West Sussex Tesco stores

Supermarket giant Tesco could not say if any West Sussex stores would be included in a raft of closures announced today (Thursday January 8).
Tesco Melton is sponsoring the Young Achiever award EMN-140408-154745001Tesco Melton is sponsoring the Young Achiever award EMN-140408-154745001
Tesco Melton is sponsoring the Young Achiever award EMN-140408-154745001

The company has said it will be closing 43 unprofitable stores nationwide following a challenging pre-Christmas period. It will also be disposing of Tesco Broadband and Blink Box movie rental brand.

The 43 stores under threat will be across all Tesco formats - Metro, Extra, Express, Home Plus and OneStop. The company has 3,461 nationally employing more than 310,000 people.

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When asked about specific store closures in Crawley, the Horsham district and Mid Sussex a spokesman said: “Our priority is to speak to colleagues about the changes over the coming weeks.”

He added no announcement would be made until those discussions have taken place.

Like-for-like sales excluding fuel were down by 2.9 per cent against the same 19-week period last year, and on the same product lines. This compares with a decline of 5.4 per cent in the second quarter.

In a statement to The City Dave Lewis, chief executive said: “We are seeing the benefits of listening to our customers. The investments we are making in service, availability and selectively in price are already resulting in a better shopping experience. A broad-based improvement has built gradually through the third quarter, leading to a strong Christmas trading performance.

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“I would like to thank all of my colleagues in Tesco. The unique combination of retail expertise and real passion for the customer has been an inspiration to be a part of.

“In difficult circumstances the team has begun the challenging task of reinvigorating our business. There is more to do but we have taken the first important steps in the right direction.

“We have some very difficult changes to make. I am very conscious that the consequences of these changes are significant for all stakeholders in our business but we are facing the reality of the situation.

“Our recent performance gives us confidence that when we pull together and put the customer first we can deliver the right results.”

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