Units in Grangemouth, Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh also axed and new stores shelved as giant addresses trading problems
But while some reports had suggested that the closure programme, originally revealed in early January, would be dominated by Tesco Express outlets, in fact less than half the closures will be c-store sized outlets. And only one of the four units to close in Scotland – the shop in Troon, Ayrshire – is an Express.
The group’s Metro-sized store in Grangemouth, the Tesco super store in Kirkcaldy and a Tesco Homeplus outlet in Edinburgh are the other Scottish outlets which will close their doors. It was also reported last month that several major proposed Tesco developments in Scotland had been shelved.
The move comes after Tesco had suffered in the market and had seen sales drop as other styles of supermarket, especially the German-based discounters Aldi and Lidl, showed substantial growth.
Tesco also saw billions of pounds wiped of its market value last year after it was revealed that reported profits at the group had been overstated.
Around 2000 Tesco staff are expected to be affected by the closures. New CEO Dave Lewis, appointed in October, is reported to have told staff that by making the changes the group could become completely focused on looking after customers.
