Tesco, the world’s third largest retailer, has today announced it will sell its Japanese business to pool its resources in other Asian countries where it has a larger presence.
According to a report by StockMarketWire.com, the company’s chief executive officer Philip Clarke said the decision was made after reviewing its performance in Japan in light of its Asian portfolio. “Having made considerable effort in Japan, we have concluded that we cannot build a sufficiently scalable business,” he said.
“We have decided to sell our operations there and focus on our larger businesses in the region, in line with our priority of driving growth and improving returns. I want to thank our colleagues in Japan for their continued dedication to the business,” he added.
“We will be undertaking a formal sale process over the coming months and the business will continue to trade as usual in the meantime.”
According to the news source Japan is Tesco’s smallest international retail business, consisting of 129 stores in the Greater Tokyo region trading under the Tsurakame, Tesco and Tesco Express banners.
