Tesco planning to launch takeaway chain

11th Apr 2014 07:03

Tesco is reportedly planning on launching a high-street takeaway chain to be focused on the London market. The supermarket owner is understood to be in the final stages of a new format called 'Tesco Express food' to compete with the likes of Pret à Manger, Eat and Greggs, according to The Guardian.The group has been restructuring its supermarkets and introducing 'food to go' sections that sell takeaway fare including salads, sandwiches and roast chicken, as part of Chief Executive Philip Clarke's turnaround plan. Tesco, which reports its annual results next week, declined to comment on the reports of a separate takeaway chain. The City predicts Tesco will report 10% decline in trading profit to £3.2bn.Analysts expect the takeaway stores would be less than a third the size of a typical Tesco Metro and located close to existing Metro or Express stores. Sainsbury's pulled out of a similar idea called Fresh Kitchen in 2012 after admitting that the first trial of the food-on-to-go wasn't effective.RD