David Reid, deputy chairman of the UK’s largest retail group, has recently announced that Tesco was happy to grow organically on an international level, and that the threat of competition from US group Wal-Mart was highly over-exaggerated.

“We don’t have to be running round looking for things to buy. One advantage with an organic-led strategy is that you can put stores absolutely slap bang where you want them,” Reid commented.

He added that after the much-anticipated arrival of discount retail chain Wal-Mart into the UK market, following their 1999 acquisition of Asda, Tesco had proved more than capable of coping with the competition. “I don’t think Wal-Mart has hit us at all. I think people are starting to get into perspective the effect of Wal-Mart.”

Tesco’s sales, driven by consumer focus, were up again this year and this positive trend was echoed in turnover, profits, personal finance accounts and even the registering of online customers.

Reid added that he was congratulating his staff following the recent petrol crisis, during which a good work ethic was demonstrated: “There was no absenteeism and everybody put extra effort in.”

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