Tesco focus on own-brand
Tesco plans to ramp up the amount of goods it buys centrally, as well as sales of own-brand products, as it looks to improve returns despite rising commodity prices.
The supermarket group said it wants to increase the amount of food it buys centrally to about £5bn by 2014-15 from around £800m in 2010-11.
That target covers Tesco’s businesses in Britain, Ireland, central Europe and Asia, although not its Fresh & Easy chain on the west coast of the United States.
It will also step up the amount of space in its stores given to own-brand groceries, which tend to be cheaper than branded rivals but have a similar or higher profit margin for the retailer.