Tesco Direct is closing next month putting 500 jobs at risk

The non-food arm of its website will close on July 9

Tesco Direct is closing down next month putting 500 jobs at risk.

The supermarket is shutting the tech, toys, clothes and homeware side of its business because it isn't making any money "despite best efforts." Tesco Direct sells a range of general merchandise for delivery or collection. According to a statement, the supermarket giant has decided "there is no route to profitability for this small, loss-making part of the business." It will stop trading on 9 July and about 500 staff will be at risk of redundancy. A statement from Tesco said: "The priority is to support colleagues, and external partners, that will be affected by this change." Users logging on to the website are presented with the following message: "Tesco Direct is closing on 9 July 2018. It may now take 2-5 days to receive your order. If your order is delayed, our customer service team will contact you." Tesco says it wants to "create a simpler online experience for customers." Charles Wilson, CEO of Tesco UK and ROI, said: "We want to offer our customers the ability to buy groceries and non-food products in one place and that's why we are focusing our investment into one online platform." "This decision has been a very difficult one to make, but it is an essential step towards establishing a more sustainable non-food offer and growing our business for the future."