Tesco.com extends international reach

NEWS Tesco.com plans to launch its home delivery service in South Korea and has also signed a joint venture with a US grocer to make its name in San Francisco Bay. The South Korea launch, originally planned last year, is due to go ahead in November and was chosen as Tesco.com's first foray overseas as there are already seven stores there with five more due to be built by February 2002. Tesco also has a 35 per cent stake in a deal with Safeway, the US grocer (not to be confused with the UK Safeway chain), which is to be formally announced next month. Russell Craig, Tesco.com spokesman, told silicon.com both deals are part of the company's strategy to extend the business internationally. "It was an obvious choice for us because we already have existing stores and 20 per cent of South Koreans have access to broadband internet, which is fantastic in comparison to the UK," he said. When questioned about branching out into Central Europe, Craig said there is no immediate plan because of the lower internet take-up. In the UK, online shoppers spend up to four times as much online, £90 compared to £25 spent by offline shoppers.