ICYMI Tesco rebranding all Tesco Metro stores to Tesco Express

MrsStepford

It hasn't been mentioned much and I only saw it on Twitter this week - apologies if this has been covered already.

It will cost Tesco money to convert the stores from Metro to Express eg signage. This might be tax deductible as a business expense.However, long term, the move will save Tesco money and put prices up for customers. Why ? Tesco Metro stores are included in the Aldi price match and Tesco Express stores aren't, so former Metro stores will see prices rise to match those in existing Express stores. 

Tesco to rebrand Metro stores as Express format - Retail Gazette

Has this happened in you area already ? If not, be assured that it will, as Tesco is getting rid of Tesco Metro as a brand. 

jon81uk

I thought the Metro prices were already higher than the superstores anyway.

Sainsburys got rid of the Central brand years ago, surprised Tesco kept the Metro one for so long.

Although some Metro store are possibly big enough to just be superstores, I would have thought some possibly were just "Tesco" 20+ years ago before all the separate brands.

Rosa_Damascena

I don't think its going to dent Tesco's footfall one iota, because location is everything. People who shop in Tesco Express stores do so for the convenience and are prepared to pay a few pence extra for it.

pumpkin89

The article says 89 of them are being rebranded to Express and the other 58 are going to be superstores (i.e. standard Tesco).

The superstores will still have Aldi price match etc. so the impact for customers will be minimal.  But you're right, Express is very different.  I wonder if the range will be trimmed down to match the Express format as well?  I can't see any positives for customers, which is probably why this hasn't been widely publicised outside the trade press.

chuckie851

I went to my local Tesco Metro today and there were massive price increases on a lot of everyday items. Maybe it's changing to Express next week?  I walked out without buying anything.

I have a question about what effect this will have on nearby shops because I noticed some big increases in Heron as well.  Do the others like B&M or Heron stop competing when there's no longer a big supermarket to compete with?

briskbeats

chuckie851 said:

I went to my local Tesco Metro today and there were massive price increases on a lot of everyday items. Maybe it's changing to Express next week?  I walked out without buying anything.

I have a question about what effect this will have on nearby shops because I noticed some big increases in Heron as well.  Do the others like B&M or Heron stop competing when there's no longer a big supermarket to compete with?

There’s a TE next door to Heron down a row of shops 2 miles from here. 

This Heron and the one in the city centre have the same prices. Though the Heron is on the same road as Iceland,

anotheruser

MrsStepford said:

Tesco Metro stores are included in the Aldi price match and Tesco Express stores aren't, so former Metro stores will see prices rise to match those in existing Express stores.

Or just that they want to streamline their business, brand and processes?

Either way, I think you need a little more foil for your hat :P

k3lvc

chuckie851 said:

I went to my local Tesco Metro today and there were massive price increases on a lot of everyday items. Maybe it's changing to Express next week?  I walked out without buying anything.

Would be useful to have a definition of 'massive' and on what sort of items - given what's likely to happen over the coming months as commodities increase you may be doing a lot of 'walking out'

General_Grant

k3lvc said:

chuckie851 said:

I went to my local Tesco Metro today and there were massive price increases on a lot of everyday items. Maybe it's changing to Express next week?  I walked out without buying anything.

Would be useful to have a definition of 'massive' and on what sort of items - given what's likely to happen over the coming months as commodities increase you may be doing a lot of 'walking out'

Not sure about "massive" and I don't buy much at Tesco but last week I noticed in a Tesco Metro compared with recent price (which is still the online price and therefore presumably available in regular Tesco/superstores):
Bananas - loose - 75p/kilo (was 73p)
Creamfields UHT skimmed milk - 53p(?) (was 50p)
Springforce jumbo kitchen roll - 95p(?) (91p in Tesco (as online))

The ? marks are because I'm not completely sure but the prices were definitely more compared with the bracketed prices.

GaleSF63

Tesco (and other supermarkets) prices have gone up steadily over the last few years - and no doubt before - so I don't know if it's possible to "blame" anything in particular for recent rises. 

General_Grant

GaleSF63 said:

Tesco (and other supermarkets) prices have gone up steadily over the last few years - and no doubt before - so I don't know if it's possible to "blame" anything in particular for recent rises. 

That's general price inflation.  This thread is really about differential pricing - Tesco Express being more expensive than Tesco Metro.