Tesco opens telecoms centre

Supermarket giant Tesco launched its first telecoms centre today as it expanded its mobile phone business.

The centre was opened at Tesco’s flagship Extra store in Slough and offers shoppers a wide range of mobile phone handsets, landlines and accessories, as well as information on broadband internet services.

Staff at the centre are trained telecoms advisers and can give customers help on queries over internet access, home phone services and mobile phones.

The centre also has a mobile phone selector which allows customers to type their needs into a computer which then offers the most suitable options.

Tesco’s telecoms chief executive Andy Dewhurst said: “This is not just another mobile phone shop.

“At Tesco we are challenging the normal telecoms buying experience which is complicated, pressured and time-consuming.

“The telecoms centre staff will not work on commission. They are there to help our customers make the right decisions when choosing telecoms services or a new mobile phone.

“We want to make choosing internet access, home phone service or a new mobile an enjoyable experience where customers feel they have all the information they need from helpful staff.”

Tesco said the Slough telecoms centre was the first of many to be opened in stores around the country.

The company has a 30.5% share of the UK grocery market and for every £8 (€11.84) spent by British shoppers £1 (€1.48) is spent in its stores and petrol stations.

In its half-year update Tesco reported profits of £908m (€1.34bn) as sales rose 14% to £18.8bn (€27.8bn). The supermarket is on course to deliver profits of more than £2bn (€2.9bn) this year.

Much of the company’s growth has come from developing sales away from the core grocery business. In the run up to Christmas Tesco expects to sell 70,000 digital cameras and 10,000 in-car satellite navigation systems.