Tesco Ireland has announced it will spend €50m this year on new stores openings and store maintenance and upgrades after opening its 154th Irish store on South Lotts Road in Dublin 4.

In addition to new stores and upgrades, the capital expenditure will also cover a rebrand and redesign programme for the nine stores in Galway acquired by Tesco from the Joyce family in June.

In Dublin, two Tesco Express stores have opened in Spencer Dock and South Lotts Road, the latter extending to 6,000 ft in retail space, with two more planned for Smithfield and Charlemont Square before the end of the year.

Tesco also opened an 11,000 sq ft outlet in Rathfarnham in February, and a similarly sized store will open in Adamstown, west Dublin later this year. The company's Artane Castle has also been extended and refurbished, and a refit programme of older stores nationwide is underway.

"For 25 years, Tesco has been committed to delivering real value to customers and our ambitious development strategy sets us up for the next chapter of investment in our business in Ireland. We are continuously expanding and maintaining our estates and we are adding new employment with every store opening," said Natasha Adams, CEO of Tesco Ireland.

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"White Pines, Rathfarnham which opened in February was our first new store in almost four years and has delivered 60 new jobs. Our Tesco Express model, which will see four stores opening in Dublin this year, is proving very successful in urban settings and reflects evolving consumer demand for greater convenience shopping opportunities in high footfall areas.

"We anticipate these new store openings and with the addition of Joyce’s supermarkets in Galway, we will bring our overall number of stores to 165 this year, which is really good news for our colleagues, customers and the communities in which we operate.”

Tesco now employs over 13,000 people in Ireland. During the first quarter, Tesco Ireland made sales of £612m, a fall of 2.4% year-on-year but 10.1% ahead of pre-Covid levels. The company currently holds a grocery market share of 22% in Ireland.

Photo: Natasha Adams.