TESCO prides itself on service and last year it introduced 5,000 new customer assistants, whose sole job is helping customers: wherever they need it. It also offers a range of other service orientated products aimed at capturing and keeping customers.
In February it announced a joint venture with the Royal Bank of Scotland to extend financial services to customers. Its first major product will be the Tescocredit card.
The venture will cost £15-£20 million to run, with start up costs of £5 million-£10 million, according to Tesco chairman, Lord MacLaurin.
Current services for customers include the Tesco ClubCard, where customers "earned" vouchers worth £95 million sterling. They also received money off product coupons worth £162 million. The Club Card now has 9.5 million customers.
The company uses the information Clubcard provides to tailor its promotions more precisely to their needs. Last year it also introduced Clubcard Plus, which helps customers budget for their grocery needs.
Tesco said last week that this service now has 190,000 customers, significantly more than its original expectations. It has not decided yet whether it will introduce these services to Ireland.
Three months ago it launched its BabyClub, which provides advice and information to expectant mothers, including £70 in vouchers and free baby magazines. It now has 200,000 members and has been extremely successful, the company said last week.
It is unclear whether Tesco would enter the petrol retailing market in the Republic. Many sites would not allow for such an operation and it is likely that planning objections could be an obstacle.
The company's planning applications for two supermarkets in Northern Ireland, in Belfast, includes provision for petrol stations. However, it is unlikely that the company would engage in a petrol price war.
This happened in Britain and cost the company £35 million last year, impacting on its profitability.
Tesco is awaiting EU clearance on the Quinnsworth/Crazy Prices/Stewarts deal. A decision is due on May 5th. If approved, Tesco chief executive, Mr Terry Leahy, said Irish customers should begin to see the company's influence in Ireland manifest itself fairly quickly - within a matter of months.
The company has already committed itself to investing around £100 million in its Irish operations. Mr Leahy said this would include building new stores in areas where the company does not, have a presence. It would also include refurbishing and extending stores.
On the food side last year it introduced 2,000 new product lines in its British stores. Other innovations included a chefs club, which provides customers with advice from some of Britain's top food and wine experts.
