SUPERMARKET giant Tesco has contributed £5.7 billion to the Northern Ireland economy over the past two decades, economists claim.
And the British retailer, which is marking 20 years since it first set up in the north, said that figure was "conservative".
The company employs 9,600 locally as well as supporting almost 6,000 other jobs along the supply chain.
It has produced an economic report which claims that for every £100 Tesco spends in the north, a further £90 is added through supply chain and employee spending.
The supermarket arrived at the £5.7 billion figure after adding the £3 billion it has spent directly to other spin-off benefits.
To put the colossal amount into context, it would be enough to cover the north's entire annual health budget, build around half a dozen new schools, construct the York Street interchange and redevelop Casement Park - with enough change left to pay for the devolution of corporation tax
The company commissioned independent economists Maureen O'Reilly and Philip McDonagh (formerly of PwC) to compile the report.
It was the first time it had attempted to put a figure on its economic worth to any region of the UK.
Tesco said it had generated at least £1.5bn in wages over the period while it spent £650m building new stores and upgrading existing shops.
The supermarket chain set up its first outlet in the north when it opened a Tesco Metro on Royal Avenue, Belfast in 1996.
The firm grew quickly, taking over Stewarts, Crazy Prices - famous for its 'Yellow Pack' and Jim Megaw - and Westside Stores.
It now has 54 stores across the north ranging from small convenience outlets to massive 24-hour shopping destinations.
And as its estate has grown, so too has spending on local produce.
It spent £50 million on locally-produced goods in its first year but the annual figure is now ten-times that amount.
Overall, the company said it had spent £5.5bn on food and drink made in Northern Ireland over the period.
It has 1,200 local product lines on its shelves produced by 90 suppliers and 6,000 farmers.
Brendan Guidera, store director for Tesco Northern Ireland, said: "As the first grocery retailer to arrive in Northern Ireland after the Troubles, we could never have predicted how important a region it would be for the business.
“Northern Ireland has been the test bed for many Tesco initiatives –including setting up the business’ first regional buying team.
“We strongly believe that the unique regional food and drink focus created by Tesco in this province informs the positive findings in this report."
"Listening to our customers’ needs back in 1996 and since then always trying to help make shopping better, putting the customer at the heart of everything we do, and continuing to grow our local product portfolio has resulted in an ever-growing footfall to store, resulting in the need for more stores, more staff and more investment – which ultimately has led us to the very significant added value figure estimated in this report.
“In our 20th year here, it was fitting to look back and assess just what impact Tesco may have had on the region – we had no idea that the findings when captured together would appear just so significant.”
