Woman: And now as more and more UK companies look to expand worldwide by way of mergers and acquisitions, we are going over to Sara Pickford who is looking at the expansion strategy of Tesco, one of the big UK supermarket chains. With me in the studio this morning is Tesco’s marketing director David Pugh. Good morning. Mr.  Pugh!
Man: Hello!
Woman: Now. first of all. Tesco has had his presence in the mainland Europe for some time now. But when did they first do their business there?
Man: Well, we first broke into foreign market when we acquired stores in U. S. A. in 1978.  But it was sold jn 1986. The 1990s produced a much better climate for expansion. And Tesco has been expanding their businesses there since 1993 especially in Europe.
Woman: Why did you look to Europe when you were doing so well in the U. K.?
Man: Well, we’ve grown to become one of the U. K.’s largest food retailers. But in such an extremely competitive market, we knew that any further growth would be very expensive.  So we decided to expand our operations into Europe to take advantage of opportunities for growth of these rapidly expanding market output.
Woman: So where did Tesco begin their European expansion?
Man: Well. we started closest to home in France.
Woman: And how did you go about entering the French market?
Man: Well, we bought up the French food retailer Cockto and acquired seven hypermarkets and 95 supermarkets in northern France. We continue to operate under the Cockto name in these stores, in Paris though we did open one new hypermarket under our own name. In 1997,  however, we decided to sell the Cockto chain and concentrate on expanding the Central European operation.
Woman: Your company is very active in Central Europe now, what effect do you think the foreign investors have had?
Man: Well, until recently many of the goods there were very cheap, but there wasn’t much variety available. And that’s what we’ve been able to offer. I suppose eventually as competition increases, the quality of products will get better as well. Woman: And so what effect has this expansion into Europe had on Tesco?
Man: Initially of course it involves a very heavy investment。And we don’t expect to recover these capital costs in a short term. But interestingly it has made us rethink how we can go about producing our goods. And we have come up with more effective ways of doing that. Eventually we will have to look at the way we deliver the goods to the stores.  That’s definitely one area where we need to be more efficient.
Woman: And how is Tesco’s trading strategy in Central Europe different from that in the U. K. ?
Man: Well, although the customer needs are different from those in the U. K.., our commitment to product quality, value and service are just as strong. We believe these values are universal. Therefore, our traditional trading strategies will be just as successful in Central Europe.
Woman: Mm. And how do you actually go about promoting the Tesco brand?
Man: The company advertises on televisions and elsewhere. But our adverts instead of advertising products in stores or special price promotions, are aiming at building trust in the brand and these values. A sort of long-term strategy.
Woman: And what about the future? What is Tesco’s European strategy?
Man: Well, our initial investment has given us an opportunity to get to know the needs of our new customers. We now have to consolidate what we’ve already achieved. So rather than opening new stores or acquiring any more companies, we are looking to our grade and enlarge the outlets we already have and invest in our staff a commitment to high standards of service.
Woman: Mm. That’s very interesting. Thank you very much for talking to us. Mr. Pugh. And now back to Richards in the studio…