Overview
- Tesco has said it will close its more than 2,000 Express convenience stores across England at 7:30pm on Sunday, July 19 if England reach the World Cup final, with the 8pm kick-off cited as the reason for the earlier finish.
- The change applies only to Tesco Express outlets in England and is explicitly conditional so normal opening hours will stand if England do not make the final.
- Tesco confirmed colleagues scheduled to work would still receive their full pay despite an early finish and that larger Tesco supermarkets are already unaffected because of Sunday trading rules.
- Customers will still be served by Whoosh ultra-fast delivery until 11pm and all pre-booked Grocery Home Shopping orders for Sunday evening will be honoured to limit disruption.
- Other retailers have also shortened hours for England fixtures this week, a pattern retailers link to strong match-driven sales of drinks, snacks and electronics and to firms trying to balance staff welfare with customer demand.