tesco are likely to announce the uk/europe rollout of their voip...

tesco are likely to announce the uk/europe rollout of their voip service on tuesday or wednesday (monday or tuesday in UK). i wonder if they plan to expand tesco telecoms into the china market to compliment their retail expantion there and/or in India ahead of a move into the retail sector there.

either way, this week we will see why and who has been buying fre.


Tesco to show strong Xmas sales, but trend slowing
By Trevor Datson, European Retail Correspondent

LONDON (Reuters) - Christmas sales at retail juggernaut Tesco Plc are likely to show further strong growth, but the longer-term trend is slowing and rival Sainsbury may run it close for the first time in years.

Many analysts have not published official forecasts for like-for-like sales growth -- which Tesco will announce on Tuesday -- but the unofficial consensus for the seven weeks to January 2 is crystallising in a range of between 5 and 6 percent.

This would be an impressive performance by most measures, outstripping total grocery market growth of 3 to 4 percent at a time in which price deflation means that supermarkets have to make sales growth in excess of 1 percent just to stand still.

It would also be achieved on top of the 7.6 percent same-store growth excluding petrol that the top retailer achieved over Christmas last year.

This is of course part of the problem. The stellar growth rates that the market has become accustomed to from Tesco become less feasible as the comparisons get tougher. But the competition is becoming tougher, too.

J. Sainsbury Plc, which found itself overtaken first by Tesco and then by Asda in the late 1990s, is showing signs of a comeback as it cuts prices, improves service and availability and wins back some of its traditional middle-market clientele.

On Thursday, Sainsbury announced a better-than-expected 5.2 percent increase in third-quarter same-store sales, so it could well run Tesco close, or even potentially beat it.

And Wal-Mart Stores Inc.-owned Asda, which is likely to lose its number-two spot to Sainsbury later in the spring, has pledged a price war to regain its core price-conscious constituency.

Tesco's market share has been fairly static at just over 30 percent for the past eight months, according to research firm TNS, while Sainsbury has gradually inched ahead to around 16.2 percent and fourth-placed Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc has slipped back.

Tesco contests the headline market share figure, saying it does not take account of food sales by traditional non-food players such as Marks & Spencer and Boots .

Tesco growth is certainly slowing -- in chronological order, quarterly like-for-like sales excluding fuel have come out at 7.5 percent, 6.8 percent, 6.6 percent and 5.5 percent in the past four quarters.

But many analysts remain positive on the stock, with 20 out of 27 brokers polled by Reuters Estimates recommending "buy" or "outperform," and only four maintaining an "underperform" or "sell" rating.

Tesco shares, which benefited from a sharp sector rally over Christmas, fell 0.4 percent on Friday to stand at 319-1/2 pence by 1150 GMT. The stock is trading at 16.4 times 2005/6 earnings, compared with 31.6 times for Sainsbury.


UK's Tesco to open 1st store in Beijing

www.chinaview.cn 2006-01-12 09:53:45

BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Britain's largest retailer Tesco will open its first store in Beijing in 2007 to establish a foothold in the fast-growing market, according to a local media report.

The Beijing News newspaper reported Tesco is seeking to catch up with and beat other foreign retailers like Wal-Mart and Carrefour in the Chinese market, where the 2008 Olympics is expected to bring new opportunities to the retailing industry.

Tesco Plc, the world's third largest hypermarket operator, entered China in July 2004 by buying a 50 percent stake in the chain retailer Hymall, a Chinese mainland subsidiary of the Taiwan-based Ting Hsin International Group.

Last October, Hymall selected an area of 20,000 square meters in east Beijing for its first store in the capital city, accordingto Wang Junshan, Hymall's public relations manager.

Hymall now has a total of 39 outlets in several Chinese cities including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Tianjin, Shenyang and Dalian.

"Now we are talking with a number of property dealers. The development strategy of Hymall is to branch out thick and fast, whereby we can not only strengthen our market presence shortly after entering a new city, but also save costs by setting up a single stock-replenishing chain," said Wang.

The Beijing News also reported that Tesco is getting itself involved in the management of Hymall in an all-round way and trying to introduce its own brand into the Chinese market.

Tesco now has 2,318 stores in 12 countries, with 179 of them inAsia.

China will fully liberalize its retail market by 2007 according to its commitments to the World Trade Organization. Enditem


Tesco, Carrefour plan wholesale units here
CHAITALI CHAKRAVARTY AND BHANU PANDE

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2006 01:21:59 AM]
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NEW DELHI: Even as the government dithers on the FDI policy in retail trade, the world’s third largest food retailer Tesco and French retail giant Carrefour plan to set up wholesale trading businesses in India, also known as cash and carry. At the same time, Wal-Mart has started recruitment for its Sam’s Club cash and carry in India.

While the current policy allows full foreign investment in wholesale trade, sources said that in all probability, both Tesco and Carrefour will kickstart operations in India by forging joint ventures with local partners. Analysts read more into it. Some of them say that they may use the local partner as the front-end at a later stage.

If foreign retail majors are in a hurry to enter India, there is a reason for it. Intense competition in western food markets is driving European retailers to take advantage of increasing demand and access to Asian markets. Most have set foot in the world’s largest growth market, China. India is the next logical destination. Also, India is witnessing a consumption boom. A KPMG study estimates that organised retail will grow from $6.4bn to $23bn by ’10. So those sitting on the fringes are coming to the centrestage.

Sources said both Tesco and Carrefour have begun groundwork by putting backend in place. In fact, Carrefour has already moved its man Gerard Freiszmuth from Paris to India as CEO for exploring opportunities and oversee work.


Top 10 tech trends for India

Shobhana Subramanian, Priyanka Joshi and Leslie D'Monte | January 11, 2006

5. Plug into the IP Phone

While Internet Protocol telephony is known in India -- many of us having used it on the sly for the last four years -- what is little known is that Indian enterprises have bought over 100,000 IP phones in the last couple of years.

IP phones transmit voice using data packets (similar to the way the Internet routes data) instead of circuit-switched (the way your vanilla telephone operates) connections over voice-only networks. Since the calls are routed through the Net (these phones have an ethernet phone in which your phone (copper) cable can be inserted), all the user pays for is the IP phone software and the Internet connection.

While it took Cisco three years to sell its first million IP phone, it took just four months to sell the sixth million (total global sales till date). In a few year's time, one out of two phones in India could be an IP phone, opines Ranajoy Punja, VP (Marketing), Cisco. Frost & Sullivan estimates the Indian IP telephony market in India to be around $ 54 million.

IP phone prices have, on an average, dropped from $800-$900 four years ago to around $100 today. The voice quality too has improved. However, since the IP phone uses the Internet route, there are concerns over security, though companies are taking care to ensure that the network is adequately protected and all messages are scrambled. IP phones (unlike the vanilla phones) can be customised. And this trend is expected to catch on further in 2006.