Tesco exits Poland and sells to Netto

Tesco announced the sale of 301 of its stores in Poland to Salling Group’s discount banner Netto. This includes the sales of two distribution centres, and it headquarters in Krakow, all valued at PLN900m (€181m). The transaction needs to be approved by the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, which will be finalised by Q4 2020.

Tesco Central Europe reported a 12% decline in revenue in the full year results for 2019, dragged down by the lacklustre performance in Poland. The operation has been struggling to attain revenue growth and profitability as achieved by the other central European markets following the three-year restructuring plan. Its Polish market performance was further hindered by its inability to overcome the loss of trade from the Sunday trading ban that began in 2018. This sale will help the British retailer to drive growth in Its three remaining central European markets in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.

IGD