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Supermarket retailer Tesco has announced plans to double its number of in-store practices to 140 in the coming year.

The UK's biggest retailer currently has 72 in-store opticians practices and will add 70 in the next 12 months. Tesco spokesperson Carol Leach promised the move would create a minimum of 490 new jobs including posts for 70 full-time optometrists, 70 full-time practice managers and 350 full-time optical assistants.

The competition between Tesco and retailing giant Asda has intensified since the Section 60 changes to the Opticians Act in 2005.

Tesco's new openings will see it overtake Asda as the largest supermarket optician with around 140 practices. Asda currently has 81 in-store practices and spokesperson Claire Slade disclosed that there were definite plans to open at least another six during the forthcoming year. These will be created in Asda stores that are being expanded or in new superstores currently being built. She revealed that Asda could open up to 16 new practices in total, but said not all of the proposed plans had been signed-off. According to Slade, Asda's main focus during 2008 will be to attract more of the 50,000 to 70,000 customers per week that use the stores which already have an optical practice.

Late opening has been another feature of supermarket practices, with Asda's stores open between 9am and 8pm, six days a week and 10am to 4pm on Sundays (10am to 6pm in Scotland).

Leach also confirmed that Tesco's similar late night opening times would involve 'significantly increasing the number of locum optometrists and dispensing opticians in our business'.

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