MediaMarkt is to take over the electronics goods business in nine Tesco outlets in Hungary, following the decision by competition authorities to approve the partnership, according to reports.
The move follows MediaMarkt's partnership with Carrefour Polska last year, as the group seeks to develop its store-in-store concept.
Tesco operates 112 stores in Hungary.
Improved Returns
Commenting on the move, Clive Black of Shore Capital said that while the agreement is "small beer in the big scheme of things, it is another notch in the extended workstreams to improve distinctly sub-optimal returns for Tesco from the region."
Central Europe has proven to be somewhat of a headwind for Tesco in recent years, but Black suggested that measures like this could lead to the region becoming a tailwind in the years to come.
"Tesco has a leading position in the Hungarian grocery market but the Group's network of large hypermarkets have progressively proven to be, as is the case in other markets in the British Isles and Central Europe, the wrong sized store for many shoppers," he said.
"The concept of the one-stop shop has, therefore, been eclipsed by the return of the specialist, MediaMarkt being a case in point in the electronics segment, and growing penetration of online."
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
