Tesco share price inches up as retailer closes remaining Homeplus stores

Tesco (LON:TSCO) opened higher this morning amid news that Britain’s largest retailer is to close its last six Homeplus stores in the UK with the potential loss of about 450 jobs. The group revealed yesterday that the outlets in Bristol, Bracknell, Nottingham, Denton, Bromborough and Preston would close on 27 June.

“We’ve taken the difficult decision to close our remaining six Homeplus stores. Our priority is now to explain what this announcement means for our colleagues and wherever possible, offer them alternative roles with Tesco,” a company spokesman said.
The move brings the end to Tesco’s non-food retail venture, which launched in 2005 offering standalone outlets stocking homeware, clothing, electrical goods and stationery products. The concept never took off and six Homeplus stores were included in the 43 store closures announced by Tesco in January.
The latest closures underscore the strategy of CEO Dave Lewis to cut costs and sell underperforming assets in the wake of the worst year in the group’s history. Last month, Tesco posted an annual loss of £6.4 billion, one of the largest ever reported by a British company. The announcement capped years of declining market share, debt rating downgrades and a £263 million accounting scandal, which almost halved the group’s stock market value.
Tesco’s share price has been in positive territory so far this morning. By 08:25 BST, the stock was trading 0.77 percent higher at 229.16p. Since the beginning of the year, the FTSE 100-listed retailer has seen its shares gaining over 20 percent, recovering from an 11-year low hit in December.
As of 08:58 BST, Wednesday, 13 May, Tesco PLC share price is 229.25p.