Tesco plans to quadruple Chinese sales in 5 years

Tesco aims to quadruple sales in China to $6.4 billion over the next five years, as its operations in the country verge on profitability.

Tesco runs 82 hypermarkets and four “Lifespace” shopping malls stretching along eastern China.

A business of over 200 hypermarkets would be similar in size to Tesco’s estate of largest “Extra” stores in its main British market, where it dominates the retail landscape.

China offers an “unrivalled opportunity in a large, rapidly growing market,” Tesco said in slides published on its website, noting the country is forecast to have 221 cities of over 1 million people by 2025, compared with 35 in Europe now.