Community impact

Progress 2007

Listening to communities

Our commitment to being a good neighbour means we need to understand and respond to what people want. We consult on potential new store openings, informing local people of our plans and inviting feedback. For example, in the UK we hold public exhibitions as part of our consultation process with local communities on every planned Tesco superstore or Extra and on major extensions. We also talk to local traders about how our proposals can attract new customers to the area and improve business for everyone.

This kind of dialogue continues once a store is open and results in changes such as fitting Express convenience stores in the UK with new shop fronts so they blend in better with their surroundings. In the US, we have designed our trailers to reduce noise by 66% and will not make night deliveries to stores with homes nearby.

We are introducing Community Boards in stores in most countries where we operate, giving local people and organisations the opportunity to advertise local events and initiatives. We encourage our stores and car parks to be used by local groups and charities, adding to our role as a focal point in the community.

Land holdings

We buy land in order to open or extend stores, and we aim to move from acquiring the land to opening the store or extension as quickly as possible. However, owing to the complexities of property development, the planning system and our innovative mixed use schemes, which sometimes include assembling sites from several parcels of land, this can take several years.

UK Competition Commission inquiry

The UK Competition Commission's investigation of the UK grocery market continued during 2007 and 2008. The UK Competition Commission's provisional findings dismissed concerns that Tesco's position in the market means that other retailers cannot compete or is acting as a barrier to expansion to other grocery retailers. It found that supermarket entry into the convenience sector has not distorted competition, and that convenience stores that provide consumers with a strong retail offer will continue to survive and prosper.

The Competition Commission has recognised that the market is delivering a good deal for customers.

For full details of the investigation and some of Tesco's own submissions see www.competition-commission.gov.uk and www.tesco.com/talkingtesco

New stores

In response to social and policy changes in the UK in recent years we have extended opening hours and moved back to the centre or edges of town. Many of our newer stores are built on previously developed 'brownfield' land (98% in 2007) close to town centres, and often in areas that other developers will not consider. They provide jobs for local people and help to regenerate communities, attracting other retailers as well as our shoppers.

The impact of supermarket store openings on existing shops has been controversial, but there is plenty of evidence of a positive effect. A UK study by Southampton University's Professor Neil Wrigley (cited in his evidence to the Competition Commission) found positive outcomes from the conversion of convenience stores to Tesco Express in four Hampshire communities, specifically:

• a major re-localisation of food shopping away from distant superstores and towards stores in the local community;
• important travel changes involving significantly increased walking and cycling and reduced car mileage;
• highly positive community responses to, and increases in consumer welfare from, being able to access products locally (particularly fresh foods); and
• negligible diversion of trade from local independent stores and indications that local retailers and service providers might experience gains.

Tesco is also committed to sustainable, mixed-use development. Our scheme in Woolwich, London, promises a major transformation of the local town centre. In partnership with Greenwich Council, Tesco is providing a Tesco store and other retail space, over 900 homes, public spaces and a new Civic Centre including a library. This £400 million development will create a vibrant resource for work and leisure.

In February 2008, HRH Prince Andrew attended the opening of our Fresh & Easy store in Compton, Los Angeles. The store was welcomed by local officials, including County Supervisor Yvonne Burke and Compton Mayor Eric Perrodin, as providing jobs and investment in an area that other retailers had avoided.