Mid-Week Tesco PLC News Roundup: Legal Troubles With UK Authorities; Competition From German Discounters; Paper, Plastic or Reusables; Wine...And More

United Kingdom-based Tesco PLC is the number one food and grocery retail chain in that nation with about 31% of total market share, along with being the third-largest retailer in the world, after number two Carrefour Group, which is based in France, and number one U.S-based Wal Mart, Inc.

Tesco opened its first small-format Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market grocery store in the U.S. in late October, 2007, in the Southern California desert city of Hemet. To date, Tesco has opened 71 Fresh & Easy combination fresh foods and basic grocery stores in Southern California, Nevada and Arizona.

Mid-Week News Roundup:

Legal troubles: UK Times Online: Tesco slammed over 'unfair' food adverts ... Tesco has been rapped by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for promotions that used an "unfair" selection of goods to claim that a market basket of groceries is cheaper than the competitions' ... UK Guardian: Tesco rapped by ad watchdog for misleading shoppers over rivals ... UK Independent: Tesco exaggerated size of price cuts.

A slip and fall in the line of duty: UK Telegraph: Tesco home deliveryman seeks compensation from customer ... Tesco customer is being pursued for compensation by one of the supermarket chain's home deliverymen months after he slipped on a driveway during a routine delivery.

UK competition: Discount supermarkets gain as consumers cut back on spending ... Tesco (number one in the UK) and Sainsbury's (the number three UK supermarket chain) both experienced slight falls in market share, down from 31.8% to 31.6% and 16.1% to 15.8% respectively, while discounters gain share ... Beware the Not-so-Supermarkets ... Aldi, other discounters giving Tesco, others a run for their money in the UK ... Middle classes flock to Aldi, Iceland and Lidl ... More: German grocers establish a bridgehead in Britain.

Paper (bags) vs plastic vs reusable in the UK: Grocery packaging: UK shoppers shun single-use bags ... UK supermarket chain Tesco says the use of disposable plastic bags is in steep decline as thousands of shoppers switch to permanent shopping bags ... But Tesco's Fresh & Easy in the USA offers free plastic bags only, no paper option.

Local design: New store tries to blend in ... Tesco attempts to localize A new Tesco Express store in a historic Northamptonshire high street neighborhood in the UK.

Tesco & charity: New Tesco store provides big cash boost for charity...Donates 500-p (British Pounds) to UK cancer charity.

Word of mouth marketing: Supermarket uses town crier to reveal new store plan. Very British actually. The town crier will need a 'stiff upper lip.'

Summer wine festival: Tesco is one of the world's leading wine retailers ... Read about it:
Award-winning wines on offer in Tesco in-store festival. Value Wines: Tesco Plots Low-Cost Wines for Value Line.

UK farmers feeling like the losers in nation's supermarket price war: UK farmers concerned as supermarket price wars continue.

Tesco PLC to move into India: Tesco opened the first store of its Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market small-format grocery chain in Britain's former colony of the United States last year. It now has 71 stores in the U.S., with many more set to open this year and next.

The global retailer now plans to move into India, another of Britain's former colonies and the nation with the world's second fastest-growing economy, after China. Will Tesco succeed in India, a nation that since independence continues to adopt numerous aspects of British culture--ranging from food and fashion, to the English language? Tesco dips cautious toes into India ... Also an online discussion: Tesco Follows Walmart into India. A politcal bird: Meanwhile, Tesco's expansion plans in the nation of Turkey are running into some political problems: Tesco's expansion in Turkey caught in political turmoil.

Tesco likes it hot in the UK: Will Fresh & Easy follow suit and heat things up (at least in the produce departments) in its U.S. stores? Tesco to Stock World’s Fiercest Chili Pepper.