The Tesco Metro brand is to be scrapped, with existing stores being rebranded to the Tesco Express and Tesco Superstore formats.

The news comes despite a major overhaul of the Metro format being announced in August 2019, a move which saw the loss of 4,500 jobs, significant range rationalisation and cuts to management.

An internal message sent to Tesco staff and seen by Better Retailing read: “I want to let you know about some changes we’re planning to make to our Metro format. Over the last few years, we have seen our customers’ shopping habits change and we have taken the decision to rebrand all of our Metro stores to better reflect this.

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“Our Metro format was originally designed for larger, weekly shops, but today nearly 70% of customers use them as convenience stores, buying food for that day.

“To ensure our offer continues to serve the needs of our customers, 89 of our Metro stores will rebrand to Tesco Express. The remaining 58 Metro stores will have their Metro signage removed and be referred to as Tesco Superstores.

“These stores will receive new fascias over the coming months but will continue to trade normally.”

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