One Stop under fire over store takeover
Tesco-owned convenience store chain One Stop could be subject to an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading following complaints over its purchase of 77 Mills Group stores. The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) claims that Walsall-based One Stop provides a “poorer offer” to consumers than the Tesco Express format.
One Stop would own 598 UK stores if the 77-store deal is completed.
One Stop has been wholly-owned by Tesco since 2003 but is run as a separate business.
The ACS says the purchase might not be widely understood to be the latest takeover of a local shop chain by Tesco.
The ACS claims that the One Stop stores are “more expensive” and provide a “poorer offer” to consumers than the Tesco Express format.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “The competition authorities have repeatedly failed to grasp the implications of the continuing growth of Tesco’s shadow brand. They must not make the same mistake again; we need a full and robust investigation into the implications of the continued growth of the One Stop format.”
The sum of the Mills Group store acquisition has not been disclosed.
