Tesco coming, inks pact with Trent

In another announcement, Tesco said that it was entering into an exclusive franchise agreement with Trent, the retail arm of the Tata Group. Under the agreement, Trent will be able to draw on Tesco8217;s retail expertise and technical capability to support the development of its hypermarket business, Star Bazaar. Tesco will receive a fee from Trent which currently has four hypermarkets.

8220;Our ability to access Tesco8217;s retail knowledge and expertise will play an important role in our business. Their wholesale cash-and-carry business will provide us with the opportunity to tap into a world class supply chain thereby delivering the best of products and services to our customers,8221; said Trent managing director Noel N Tata.

The group will compete with the cash-and-carry operations of Germany8217;s Metro AG and Shoprite Holdings, as well as Wal-Mart8217;s venture with Bharti. France8217;s Carrefour has also said it plans to enter the wholesale market. Tesco currently runs business in 13 countries outside the UK, which account for over half of its total selling space.