The Carrefour and Tesco Swap Deal

Although the Slovakian part of the deal was unable to get regulatory approval, the swap allowed Tesco to consolidate its position in the highly competitive Czech market, where it was going strong, and to exit from Taiwan where its progress had not been up to expectations. Tesco entered Taiwan in 2000, but could not withstand the competition from local players and other international players, who had established themselves firmly in the market by then. On the swap deal, Andrew Higginson, Director, Strategy and Finance, Tesco, said, "This is a positive strategic move for Tesco which will allow us to focus on doing an even better job for customers in central Europe and our other Asian markets."⁵

However, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia - markets that Carrefour had entered in 1998 - the company was struggling to gain market share. As of 2004, Carrefour had managed to garner less than a five percent market share in these fast growing East European markets.

Commenting on the deal, Allan Tien, Spokesman for Carrefour in Taiwan, said, "If you find yourself struggling hard to make headway in certain countries, why keep doing it? We're late in breaking into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and Tesco faces the same situation in Taiwan. I think this new breakthrough will facilitate these two groups' healthy operations."⁶...