Tesco Ireland has announced the acquisition of the Galway-based Joyce supermarket group.

The deal, which is subject to approval by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), will mean Tesco rebranding and designing the stores on a phased basis during 2022.

Joyces began in 1951 as a single grocery store travelling mobile shop with the further stores being added since 1988 and currently employing 500 people.

Tesco has been in the Republic of Ireland since 1997 and, along with SuperValu and Dunnes Stores, makes up the big three in Irish grocery retailing, with Lidl and Aldi coming next and consistently increasing their share.

Kantar data on supermarket sales for the 12 weeks to the end of October 2021 put Tesco’s share of the market at 21.3%, SuperValu at 22%, Dunnes at 22% and Lidl and Aldi both at 12.7%. Tesco claims to employ over 13,000 people in Ireland across its 151 stores including five in Galway. It has 490 Irish suppliers.