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What value of food and drink does Tesco purchase from Irish suppliers?
Tesco Group purchases €1.6bn worth of Irish food and drink, of which €644m relates to purchases for sale in Ireland.
How important are Irish suppliers to Tesco’s overall business?
Irish suppliers are a vital component of our overall business. Our support for Irish suppliers is central to our business and growing annually. We’re the single biggest buyer of Irish food and drink in the world, supporting 480 Irish small to medium suppliers and 13,000 Irish farm family suppliers.
What’s the greatest advantage of a supplier dealing with Tesco?
We’re committed to supporting Irish suppliers through our annual supplier development programme. Nearly 100 Irish companies have completed this programme, recording over €30m worth of sales to Tesco stores. Nearly a quarter of this revenue was generated in the UK, highlighting the export opportunities realised through the programme.
Why is Irish beef and lamb important for Tesco Ireland?
One hundred per cent of the fresh beef, chicken, pork, eggs and milk sold in Tesco is sourced in the Republic of Ireland and we believe it’s important for us to provide customers with the best quality and freshest Irish produce. This year our “100% Irish meat 100% of the time” campaign underpinned our continued commitment to this ethos.
How much does spending on groceries increase at Christmas?
Kantar Worldpanel confirmed that during Christmas 2015 “shoppers spent an additional €77m on groceries compared with the same time last year, with confectionary, crisps and other snacks doing particularly well.”
Are consumers becoming more price sensitive?
Customers continue to respond positively to our investment in Staying Down prices with improvements in sales volumes, particularly in the fresh food category, and an increase in the number of customer transactions.
What are the biggest trends in grocery retail in recent years?
We’ve seen a marked increase in the customer demand for products related to dietary requirements including vegan, wheat-free and gluten-free needs. Our Free From range has evolved to include a broad spectrum of products to help customers alleviate their dietary challenges.
Is online shopping for groceries a growing trend?
We’ve seen double-digit growth in online orders year on year in 2016. In the last 12 months, we’ve delivered over 44m products.
As a UK-based retailer, what impact do you think Brexit vote may have on Tesco doing business in Ireland?
As with all other businesses, we are keeping a watching brief on Brexit, but for now it’s business as usual for Tesco in Ireland and at a group level.
Title: Commercial director, Tesco Ireland.
Value of Irish exports bought by Tesco: €980m, or almost 12% of the total Irish food and drink exports.
No of suppliers: 480 Irish food and drink companies.
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