Sir, - In his "On Wall Street" column of July 25th, Conor O'Clery highlights the contrasting fortunes of online grocers on either side of the Atlantic, and the unhappy experiences of many large "pure play" on-line retailers.
The successful experience of Tesco.com in Britain and the recent deal with the major Safeway group to export our model and technology to the United States prove that at least some on-line retailing models have the potential to grow and operate profitably.
Referring to online retailing in Ireland, Conor O'Clery omits to mention that Tesco Ireland has been successfully providing online grocery retailing here since last autumn. The service can now be accessed over the Internet by customers throughout the Greater Dublin Area and within a 20-mile radius of Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.
There are currently 25,000 registered users and the service area is to be expanded further in the coming months. - Yours, etc.,
Dermot Breen, Director, Corporate Affairs and Communications, Tesco Ireland, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.