Tesco Slovakia leans on non food and UK-style value pricing

By: Rennack Sebastian Date: 2025. 12. 01. 09:31

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Tesco is reassigning sales areas inside its large hypermarkets to strengthen big box relevance. Seasonal non food plays a central role in driving traffic and impulse buying. The retailer is applying its successful UK value strategy with everyday low prices and exclusive Clubcard offers also in Slovakia.

Sebastian Rennack
international retail analyst
Aletos Retail

While Europe’s hypermarkets retreat through downsizing and concession partnerships, Tesco in Slovakia is choosing to rebuild strength from within its big-box estates. The hypermarket in the Zlaté Piesky shopping mall to the north of Bratislava shows how the retailer is re-allocating and re-assigning floor space to stay competitive.

Rather than outsourcing space to an external operator, Tesco Slovakia is driving seasonal non food and its private-label textile brand F&F to create destination appeal. At the beginning of the store, a large F&F textiles section is positioned as a store-in-store concept, creating the feeling of a specialist textile retailer. This allows Tesco to generate seasonal impulses without relying solely on price-heavy promotions. The second part of the non food ranges is dominated by typical seasonal categories such as back-to-school, gardening and toys.

In a price-sensitive retail framework, Tesco has adopted the value regime that has proved successful in the UK: everyday low-price guarantees and exclusive loyalty-club pricing via the Clubcard membership. Augmented by convenience-driving elements such as Scan & Shop and self-checkout, Tesco is smoothing the shopping journey to offset typical time disadvantages of big-box shopping. One notable operational shift is the reduced serviced-counter length in the fresh-produce area, hinting at a response to declining footfall and a shift in service productivity.

Omnichannel is part of Tesco’s differentiation strategy. Tesco is not only using exclusive Clubcard prices to increase loyalty-scheme penetration and, with the accompanying data, better understand customers, but is also driving its online-delivery service, which further enhances access to customer data. By combining its e-grocery service with the broad adoption of Clubcard, Tesco can build a far more holistic view of shopper behaviour across both channels than most brick-and-mortar competitors.

In essence, Tesco Slovakia’s strategic play is: don’t shrink, re-engineer. Maintain large-store real estate, but use it for high-impulse, seasonal non food and elevated private-label textile destination appeal; meanwhile anchor food and fresh categories on loyalty value and everyday-low-price messaging. In a market where food inflation peaked sharply in 2023 and discounters such as Lidl have climbed the grocery ranking, this dual focus on value and destination is critical.

Tesco in Slovakia is repurposing key areas of its large hypermarkets to stay relevant and competitive

The Tesco hypermarket in the Zlaté Piesky shopping mall to the north of Bratislava is located in the same building as a Lidl discount store. As an anti-discount strategy the large-area operator massively promotes its Clubcard loyalty program and everyday low-price guarantee – already in the shopping gallery

Also at the store entrance, Tesco drives its value messaging with a dedicated gate communicating ‘A simple way to save’ and ‘You can rely on Tesco that you pay less,’ combined with a lottery celebrating the 15-year anniversary of its Clubcard program

Tesco’s Scan & Shop service helps offset the time disadvantage of large-format shopping by allowing customers to scan items directly into their bags, making the hypermarket experience more convenient and efficient

The first large department in the customer flow highlights Tesco’s non food strength, featuring its exclusive private label F&F fashion. Dedicated flooring, lighting, and fixtures create a department store feel, positioning F&F as a specialist textile destination within the hypermarket

Tesco positions F&F as a full family apparel destination, reinforced by clear segmentation and strong Clubcard promotions

Deep discounts on seasonal sell-outs complement Clubcard prices

Tesco opens its produce department with the weekly ‘Fresh 5’ offer, signalling quality and sharp pricing at the first touchpoint

Low-profile produce tables create clear sightlines across the department, improving visibility and navigation for shoppers

Also in the chilled aisle Tesco prominently highlights its Clubcard offer

The serviced counter area has been reduced in size, with the closed-off section now used to highlight Tesco’s sustainability commitments to 2035

Tesco repurposes a large part of the sales area for seasonal themes such as back-to-school, to drive footfall next to the F&F department

Tesco creates a dedicated sales-out zone with bold clearance signage to support discovery missions and impulse-driven non food purchases

The beer aisle combines pallet-based volume merchandising with strong brand theatre to create an engaging and impactful shopping experience

The back wall highlights Tesco’s strong focus on Clubcard prices, making the loyalty offer clear and visible adjacent to the beer aisle

Shelf flags in every aisle reinforce Tesco’s everyday low price promise across the entire category

In-store picking and fulfillment carts visible on the shop floor underline Tesco’s e-commerce capability in Slovakia

Tesco uses large exterior signage to promote its online shopping offer, underscoring its omnichannel advantage over brick-and-mortar discounters like Lidl