Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy says the economic slowdown will not curtail the rapid expansion in Ireland of the supermarket chain, whose annual sales in the current fiscal year are likely to come in at around €3 billion.
Despite the downturn, Tesco plans to open a further 10 outlets this year.
The group opened five stores last year, which brought the total number of outlets to 100. It operates filling stations on sites adjacent to 12 of its stores.
In an interview in Business This Week, Sir Terry said he was unperturbed by the Government's analysis that the economy has passed a "turning point" with slower growth on the cards in the period to 2011.
"A lot of what we sell is basic stuff. So we never hit the highs but we don't suffer from the lows," he said.
The group plans to open supermarkets this year in Kilrush, Co Clare; Tullow, Co Carlow; Birr, Co Offaly; Bailieborough, Co Cavan; Bettystown, Co Meath; and Cashel, Co Tipperary.
It plans to open four Express convenience stores in Dublin, at Parnell Street, Camden Street, Ringsend and Inchicore.
These openings will add some 250,000 sq ft to Tesco's footprint in Ireland, a little less than the 270,000 sq ft it has added to its total in the current fiscal year.
The chain also officially commissioned its first instore combined heat and power generation unit in Ireland yesterday as part of its environmental strategy to reduce carbon emissions and energy bills.
Sir Terry will tonight receive the Sean Lemass Gold Medal for Business Leadership from Trinity College Dublin and the Irish Management Institute in recognition of his business achievements and Irish roots.
Tesco achieved sales in Ireland of €2.7 billion in the year to February 2007, 9.7 per cent ahead of the previous year.
Sales growth in the six months to August last year was 8 per cent, down from 11 per cent a year earlier.
Sir Terry declined to put a figure on its likely sales for the full year.
"The business is growing along fine. I think growing sales of 8 or 9 per cent in an economy that's growing at 4 or 5 is a good performance but it's not an extraordinary performance," Sir Terry said.
The group does not disclose the profitability of its Irish operation. Sir Terry would not say whether its operating profit margin here was greater or lower than the 4.7 per cent Tesco declared for its European division in its most recent interim results.
He said he was confident, notwithstanding the downturn, that Tesco will open further stores in Ireland "because there's a lot of catch-up in the physical infrastructure" of the supermarket sector.
