English, ballet part of Tesco bid to outdo rivals

Tesco Plc. is teaching Koreans English and ballet at its Homeplus stores as part of a campaign to become market leader there within three years. 

The classes, costing about 40,000 won ($34.46) for three months, help the grocer improve its standing in the community and win customers, said Seung-Han Lee, chief executive officer of the Korean unit, in an interview in Seoul. The 1 million pupils spend more than twice the average Homeplus customer at the stores, according to the Cheshunt, England-based retailer. 

With a 5.5 percent share of the $92 billion Korean grocery industry, Tesco trails leader Shinsegae Co.’s E-Mart in its biggest market outside the U.K., based on figures supplied by the British company. In a bid to overtake E-Mart’s 6 percent share, Lee is opening franchised convenience stores, boosting online sales and adding one Express store a week. 

Tesco’s business in the country is “still a growth stage, not a mature stage,” Lee said in an interview in Seoul last week. “We will be No. 1.” 

Industry researcher Planet Retail forecasts food spending in Korea will grow 12 percent this year and predicts total retail sales for the country of $208 billion in 2010.