Tesco makes major ‘closing all shops early’ announcement

A major supermarket has announced early closure. Tesco has said that if the England football team reaches the World Cup final, it will close its Express stores across England.

Instead of the usual 10pm or 11pm closures, Express stores will close at 7.30pm to allow colleagues to watch the match, which kicks off at 8pm. With stores closing early, thousands of Tesco colleagues will have time to get home or to the pub in time for kick-off, while still receiving their normal pay for those hours.

As the match falls on a Sunday, Tesco’s larger stores in England will already be closed by the time the match kicks off. All stores will then reopen as normal the following morning. Express stores will still be open as normal during the daytime, so fans can stock up on pre-match supplies. Customers needing last-minute essentials can still place orders with Whoosh until 11.00pm.

All online Grocery Home Shopping orders already placed for Sunday evening will be honoured and delivered as normal. If England doesn’t reach the final, stores will open and close at their normal times.

Kevin Tindall, managing director of Tesco UK operations, said: “We appreciate just how much this would mean to so many of our colleagues.

“So if England makes it through to the final, we will close our Express stores across England in time for all colleagues to be able to celebrate with their family and friends.”

The move – that does not apply to outlets in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – comes as football fever fuels a spending surge in supermarkets.

Industry figures published today show shoppers are making more frequent trips for beers, pizzas, snacks and other match-night essentials, rather than relying on one big weekly shop.

The British Retail Consortium said retail sales were boosted by the World Cup and the recent spell of hot weather, with supermarkets among the winners as households stocked up for watching games at home.