Tesco’s Rawtenstall superstore will close permanently in the New Year - to be replaced with the supermarket giant’s new discount chain Jack’s.
The retailer’s new chain was launched in September in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire and currently has seven stores up and down the country.
Staff at the Bocholt Way, Rawtenstall store were informed of the closure on Thursday.
Tesco employs 175 full and part-time colleagues in Rawtenstall whose roles are all at risk.
They will be facing the option of applying for a new role in Jack’s, asking for a transfer to a local Tesco store, or accepting a redundancy offer.
It is understood the Jack’s store will open in the first quarter of 2019 and will specialise in cheaper, own-brand goods to rival Aldi and Lidl.
The petrol filling station and pharmacy will remain operated by Tesco.
In a statement on November 1, a spokesperson for Tesco said: “Today we have announced that we will be converting the Tesco store in Rawtenstall into a new Jack’s store. The Tesco store will continue to serve customers until January 13 and our priority now is to support our colleagues with what the changes mean for them.”
There are no plans for any other store closures in the local area including at Tesco’s superstores in Haslingden and Ramsbottom.
The bargain chain Jack’s has been named after Jack Cohen - who founded Tesco in 1919.
The stores are expected to stock principally Tesco’s own brand produce - from basics to finest, with Tesco’s eight farm brands expected to feature strongly.