76 Tesco stores will no longer operate for 24 hours

Tesco has announced a change in the trading hours of some of its stores that currently operate round the clock. The UK grocer announced that 76 of its current 400, 24-hour stores will now close at midnight and reopen at 6am because of a lack of shoppers in the early hours.

Tony Hoggett, Tesco's retail director, said: "We're always thinking about how to serve our customers better in each of our stores and with the growth of online grocery shopping, these stores saw very few customers during the night. It makes much more sense for colleagues at those stores to focus on replenishing the shelves instead and making sure they're fully stocked when they open their doors at 6am."

A Tesco spokesman said the move would affect about 400 of its employees and that they "will be supported to find alternative roles, either within the store or at another local store".

The supermarket chain, which began opening its stores for 24 hours in 1996, has seen its profits slide because of factors such as increased competition from discount retailers such as Aldi and Lidl, consumers shifting to online shopping, its accounting scandal and its breach of groceries supply code.

This new move marks the latest step by Dave Lewis, Tesco's chief executive, who took the lead role in September 2014 to change the fortunes of the company by focusing on price cuts and putting more staff in stores.

This move also follows the recent closure of its two "food-to-go" stores in London over a lack of customer interest. These two stores operating at prime locations were believed to be unprofitable because of high rents.

The 76 stores are-