Poland's new finance minister fired a shot across the bows of Tesco saying retailers opening up hypermarkets in the country were not welcome. Teresa Lubinska was quoted by Financial Times as saying that Tesco, the British supermarket chain, was an example of the kind of non-productive investment that was not needed in Poland, adding that she had tried to "chase out" hypermarkets from the city of Szczecin when she was a councillor because they took local jobs.
"Hypermarkets like Tesco are no investment. I mean they are not vital for economic growth," she said. Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain, entered Poland in 1996 and has spent about Ł1bn there on a portfolio of 44 hypermarkets and 36 smaller stores. It employs 20,000 in Poland and sees expansion in Eastern European countries as a vital part of its growth strategy. Tesco expects to open five hypermarkets in Poland this year and its representatives said that it expected to continue expanding.
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