Tesco to expand online shopping service

KLANG: Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd plans to expand its online Grocery Home Shopping (GHS) service to Ipoh and Malacca this year, following positive feedback from customers in existing locations. Its CEO Georg Fischer said GHS, launched last year, has now extended beyond the Klang Valley to include Penang and Johor Baru.
"We are definitely adding more locations to our GHS offering this year. We are getting positive feedback from our customers and it is encouraging. It has become as one of the important part of our business," he told reporters after the reopening of Tesco Extra in Bandar Bukit Tinggi here yesterday.
Fischer said the number of its online customers is growing every week, but he declined to disclose the figures.
He said the service offers customers more than 15,000 lines of fresh and frozen food, groceries and non-food items such as health and beauty, baby needs and basic household items with delivery to their homes.
"We will expand our fleet size based on the number of orders, volumes and the number of stores that we want to operate," Fischer said, adding that Tesco Malaysia's current fleet size is 70 trucks, he said. Tesco Malaysia, a joint venture between Tesco PLC and Sime Darby Bhd, was established in May 2002 with its first hypermarket in Puchong, Selangor.
Today, it operates 49 stores in two formats – hypermarket and "Extra".
Fischer said Tesco Malaysia is evaluating and identifying existing hypermarkets to be refurbished into the Extra concept.
For the moment, it is looking at two outlets, which are expected to be refurbished after the Hari Raya celebrations.
Currently, it has 14 Extra stores, whose locations include Cheras, Mutiara Damansara, Klang, Ara Damansara, Shah Alam and Selayang in the Klang Valley, Seberang Jaya in Penang, Plentong and Desa Tebrau in Johor and Seremban 2 and Seremban Jaya in Negri Sembilan.
Fischer said Tesco Malaysia has helped more than 190 traditional retailers to transform their businesses via the Tukar Programme and the Bazaar Rakyat programme, which gives small traders preferential access to space in its malls. He said it also offers these businesses its Clubcard programme that comes with special privileges for small traders.