US retail giant Wal-Mart would find it "very difficult" to open and outlet in Ireland according to its vice chairman, Mr Tom Coughlin.

He told the Bord Bia Marketplace Ireland conference in Croke Park that his company will be driven in the future by large regional supercentres with satellite hubs providing in-fill shopping opportunities.

Mr Coughlin, told reporters that it would be "very difficult" for his company to open these supercentres in Ireland and they were the company's main growth format.

It was opening them around the world in centres where they made sense, he said.

They provide the customer with a "one-stop" shopping experience in the centres which are supplemented by smaller neighbourhood market stores which carry a limited number of product lines.

Wal-Mart, with annual sales of $256 billion (€209 billion) and more than 1.5 million employees worldwide, would continue to work with suppliers to find ways of reducing the cost of its goods, he told the conference.

One such venture involved working with major US meat packers to develop an "out of store", consumer-ready, fresh meat package, which arrived pre-packaged at the store ready for the consumer.

Mr Couglin said the company was also working hard to ensure the traceability of all food items it carried by working with fresh suppliers to identify the farm where the item originated down to "plant, tree or animal".