Tesco’s tie-up with French peer Carrefour to hit the shelves this autumn

Supermarket major Tesco’s tie-up with French peer Carrefour will become operational in October, it was confirmed yesterday.

Britain’s biggest retailer has now formally entered into its strategic alliance with Carrefour, under an arrangement that has been set out for a three-year period.

In a statement, Tesco, which is headed by chief executive Dave Lewis, said the agree - ment will cover global suppliers, and will allow for the joint purchasing of own-brand goods and store equipment such as trolleys, fixtures and cleaning supplies.

The UK group unveiled the deal in July, saying it would improve the quality and choice of products available to its customers. Tesco is also aiming to lower prices on the back of the deal as it fends off competition from German discounters Aldi and Lidl.

The group also faces a major threat from the planned £12 billion merger between Sainsbur y’s and Walmar t- owned Asda.

French regulators are probing the Tesco-carrefour tie-up to examine what impact it may have on suppliers.

The Autorite de la Concurrence said it was looking into the competitive impact of the purchasing agreement to assess its effect on the food sector, both for suppliers and consumers.

The regulator is also investigating similar alliances between France’ sAuch an, Casino, Schiever, and Germa- ny’s Metro, and Carrefour and Systeme U.

The probe has been set up because a new wave of agreements are larger in scale than the deals signed previously.

Credit ratings agency Moody’ s has also said that grocery tie-ups will squeeze suppliers. It said lower purchasing costs would ultimately lead to lower revenue for suppliers across the board.