Tesco paid Aeon £40m to offload its Japanese operations last June and this gives another, more substantial, blow to a bottom line already struggling with domestic share.
However, the decision to finally jettison Fresh and Easy, which hasn’t turned a profit in six years of operating, should be welcomed as a positive, if belated, step.
The exit cost looks high, but Fresh & Easy has already racked up an estimated £850m in cumulative losses, with observers wondering why the current decision wasn’t taken years ago.
Jon Copestake is a retail analyst at The Economist Intelligence Unit.
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