The creative review is being conducted out of the supermarket chain’s headquarters in Shanghai and is specifically for the Chinese market, although a company spokesperson commented that the scope of work may eventually spill over to other markets in Asia-Pacific, including Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Thailand.
The spokesperson added that the review is in the planning stages and will not affect other overseas Tesco operations, each of which has its own locally appointed agencies.
The British retail giant opened its Guangzhou store in February this year, its first wholly-owned foreign store in south China, and plans further growth through stores in first-tier cities in that region. Tesco Longcheng was also launched at the end of April.
Tesco made its entry into the Chinese market in 2004 by buying a 50 per cent stake in the Hymall chain of supermarkets and subsequently launched 18 stores in the next two years.
At the end of 2006, Tesco paid a further US$353 million to buy another 40 per cent stake in Hymall to gain control of the venture. Since then, it has opened 56 stores in China and has set up a purchasing centre in Shanghai for its 600 stores around Asia-Pacific.
