Dozens of new stores will be opening from London to the Scottish Highlands
Tesco has revealed plans to launch 70 new Express stores nationwide after acquiring former sites from another supermarket chain, with all locations set to open before March 2027. The expansion follows the delivery of 60 new stores last year.
The supermarket bolstering its retail footprint by converting Amazon Fresh locations in London’s Kensington High Street, Hounslow, Moorgate, Aldgate East and Wembley into Tesco Express outlets. The capital’s new stores are scheduled to welcome shoppers before the summer.
Beyond London, Tesco has earmarked Express locations in Bickington (Devon), Pontrhydyrun (Torfaen), Strabane (County Tyrone) and Wallyford (East Lothian).
The retailer is also planning two larger format stores as part of its nationwide growth strategy. The sites for potential large Tesco stores are Pitlochry and Heartlands in Scotland.
This development comes on the heels of recent superstore launches throughout Yorkshire, with Tesco unveiling outlets in Ripon in November and Harrogate in December, reports the Express.
Nick Johnson, Tesco group property director, commented: “As one of the UK’s leading retailers, we support jobs and local economies up and down the UK, and as we grow our store network we’re delighted to have the opportunity to serve even more people, in even more communities.”
He added: “We are hugely excited about the year ahead and looking forward to meeting our customers where they are with great quality, exceptional value and brilliant customer service.”
Last September, Amazon Fresh revealed plans to shut down all its UK grocery outlets. The tech giant operated 19 locations across the capital, employing roughly 250 workers.
Amazon Fresh offered a distinctly different retail experience, ditching conventional tills altogether. Shoppers could simply enter, grab what they needed and leave without queuing.
The system relied on an app that monitored purchases, automatically adding selected items to a digital shopping basket.
Amazon explained at the time that it had “made the difficult decision” to shutter the shops following a “thorough evaluation of business operations and the very substantial growth opportunities in online delivery.”
