Tesco Rolls Out Online Service In Slovakia

Retail giant Tesco is continuing its foray into the e-commerce market outside the UK with the launch of an online shopping platform in Slovakia, as part of a broader push to become a global multichannel retailer, I read this morning on the company’s website.

With the service, Tesco aims to engage customers in the capital and a number of towns in close proximity, making shopping easier and saving valuable time which can be put to better use elsewhere, Tesco Slovakia’s chief executive Martin Dlouhy said. The e-commerce channel will initially launch in two stores in Bratislava and stores in several smaller towns, including Senec, Pezinok and Stupava.

The online platform will give nearly 1,000 weekly customers the opportunity to choose from almost 20,000 lines of products, including fresh and frozen food, groceries, basic household items, toys, newspapers and magazines. Customers will be able to order on the Internet and have the items delivered to their homes.

The launch was preceded by a trial with both customers and staff in the country. Tesco, which entered the Slovakian market in 1996 with the purchase of seven K-Mart department stores, currently runs around 126 stores countrywide with a 9,500-strong workforce.

This move follows the pattern of Tesco’s recent launch of its online service in neighbouring Poland and the Czech Republic and complements its existing platforms in the UK, Ireland and South Korea, Tesco’s online food and Internet retailing head Ken Towle said. The plan is to establish an innovative and scalable IT platform that is unparalleled in the industry, he added.