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Tesco has revealed when its strategic partnership with France's Carrefour will launch in the UK.

The supermarket has now formally entered into an alliance with the European grocer, under an arrangement that has been set out for a three-year period.

In a statement, Tesco said the relationship will cover global suppliers, and will allow for the joint purchasing of own-brand goods and store equipment such as trolleys, fixtures and cleaning supplies.

Tesco first announced the deal in July, saying it would improve the quality and choice of products available to its customers .

(Image: Getty)

It has now emerged the deal with launch in October - when products will start to streamline across stores.

The supermarket is also aiming to lower prices on the back of the deal as it fends off competition from the likes of Aldi and Lidl - along with a potential new supermarket entirely, that will focus on just core, own-brand lines.

It forms part of the grocer's long-term transformation, dubbed 'Project Reset', which Tesco is currently mid-way through.

What exactly is Project Reset? Tesco is going through a massive brand transformation that will see it axe products that aren't selling and form bigger partnerships elsewhere to make choices simpler and the grocer stronger. It first made headlines in March 2017 after the supermarket giant slashed the number of Heineken products sold by more than half. It axed Amstel, Sol, Tiger Beer and Kingfisher, all of which are made by the Dutch lager company.

The move comes after Sainsbury's promised lower prices on a range of everyday items as part of its planned £12 billion merger with rival Asda .

However, French regulators are probing the Tesco-Carrefour relationship to understand what impact it could have on suppliers.

The Autorite de la Concurrence said it was looking into the competitive impact of the purchasing agreement to assess its effect on the food sector, both for suppliers and consumers.

The regulator is also investigating similar alliances between France's Auchan, Casino, Schiever, and Germany's Metro, and Carrefour and Systeme U.

The probe has been set up because a new wave of agreements between grocers are larger in scale than the deals signed previously.

Moody's credit ratings agency has also said that grocery tie-ups will squeeze suppliers.

The agency said lower purchasing costs would ultimately lead to lower revenue for suppliers across the board, even if the supermarkets offer to buy in larger volumes as part of new agreements.

Last year, Tesco - which employs 440,000 people - reported profits of £1.3billion with sales of £57.5billion.

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Speaking on the partnership, Tesco chief executive, Dave Lewis, said: "I’m delighted to be entering into a strategic alliance with Carrefour.

"By working together and making the most of our collective product expertise and sourcing capability, we will be able to serve our customers even better, further improving choice, quality and value.”

Alexandre Bompard, Carrefour Group chairman, said: “This strategic alliance between Carrefour and Tesco is a major agreement as it combines the purchasing expertise of two world leaders, complementary in their geographies, with common strategies.

"This agreement is a great opportunity to develop our two brands at the service of our customers. This international alliance further strengthens Carrefour allowing it to reach a key milestone in the implementation of its strategy."