Tesco ‘megalomania’ denied

SUPERMARKET group Tesco yesterday rejected claims that it was guilty of a “creeping megalomania” that was sucking the life out of local business.

Britain’s number one grocer, which nets £1 in every £8 spent by British consumers, denied its move into the convenience store sector was killing off communities.

It came as the retailer once again underlined its dominance by announcing sales were running 14.6% higher than a year earlier.

Chairman David Reid described Tesco’s expansion from a small chain into a multinational operator as a “great British success story”.

Tesco came under attack from investors and campaign groups as it addressed its first annual meeting since becoming the first British retailer to post annual profits of £2 billion (€3bn).

Private shareholder Donovan Winter said: “What concerns me is the spread of stores that you have, this creeping megalomania. Everywhere you go, you see an Express.

“It’s like a plague of locusts, they are sucking the lifeblood out of local enterprises.

“Where do you see a local family butcher, or a fishmonger or greengrocer? They are being driven out of business. Local people are losing the personal service.”

Mr Reid said the claim Tesco was wiping out the community sector was a “total myth” and that Britain still had a vibrant independent grocery sector.