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Tesco (1)Origins: Jack Cohen, the son of Jewish migrants from Poland, founded Tesco in 1919 when he began to sell war-surplus groceries from a stall at Well Street Market, Hackney, in the East End of London.[10] The Tesco brand first appeared in 1924. The name came about after Jack Cohen bought a shipment of tea from Thomas Edward Stockwell. He made new labels using the initials of the supplier's name (TES), and the first two letters of his surname (CO), forming the word TESCO.[10] After experimenting with his first permanent indoor market stall at Tooting in November 1930, Jack Cohen opened the first Tesco shop in September 1931 at 54 Watling Street, Burnt Oak, Edgware, Middlesex.[11][12][13] Tesco was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1947 as Tesco Stores (Holdings) Limited.[10] The first self-service shop opened in St Albans in 1956 (which remained operational until 2010 before relocating to larger premises on the same street, with a period as a Tesco Metro),[16] and the first supermarket in Maldon in 1956.[10] In 1961 Tesco Leicester made an appearance in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest shop in Europe. |
Tesco (2)Expansion: During the 1950s and 1960s, Tesco grew organically, and also through acquisitions, until it owned more than 800 shops. The company purchased 70 Williamson's shops (1957), 200 Harrow Stores outlets (1959), 212 Irwins shops (1960, beating Express Dairies' Premier Supermarkets to the deal), 97 Charles Phillips shops (1964) and the Victor Value chain (1968) (sold to Bejam in 1986).[17]
Jack Cohen's business motto was "pile it high and sell it cheap",[18] to which he added an internal motto of "YCDBSOYA" (You Can't Do Business Sitting On Your Arse) which he used to motivate his sales force.
In May 1987, Tesco completed its hostile takeover of the Hillards chain of 40 supermarkets in the North of England for £220 million.[19]
In 1994, the company took over the supermarket chain William Low after fighting off Sainsbury's for control of the Dundee-based firm, which operated 57 shops. This paved the way for Tesco to expand its presence in Scotland, in which its presence was weaker than in England.
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Tesco (3)Expansion: Tesco introduced a loyalty card, branded 'Clubcard' in 1995, and later an Internet shopping service. In 1996 the typeface of the logo was changed to the current version with stripe reflections underneath, whilst the corporate font used for shop signage was changed from the familiar "typewriter" font that had been used since the 1970s. Overseas operations were introduced the same year.[9] Terry Leahy assumed the role of Chief Executive on 21 February 1997, the appointment having been announced on 21 November 1995. |
Tesco (4)Expansion: On 21 March 1997, Tesco announced the purchase of the retail arm of Associated British Foods, which consisted of the Quinnsworth, Stewarts and Crazy Prices chains in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and associated businesses, for £640 million.[23] The deal was approved by the European Commission on 6 May 1997.[24]
The company was the subject of a letter bomb campaign lasting five months from August 2000 to February 2001 as a bomber calling himself "Sally" sent letter bombs to Tesco customers and demanded that Clubcards be modified to be capable of withdrawing money from cash machines. |
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Tesco (5)Diversification: The company started to expand the range of products it sold during the 1960s to include household goods and clothing under the Delamare brand, and in 1974 opened its first petrol station.[26][27][28]
In July 2001, Tesco became involved in internet grocery retailing in the US when it obtained a 35% stake in GroceryWorks.[29] In 2002, Tesco purchased 13 HIT hypermarkets in Poland. It also made a major move into the UK's convenience shop market with its purchase of T & S Stores, owner of 870 convenience shops in the One Stop, Dillons and Day & Nite chains in the UK.[30]
In June 2003, Tesco purchased the C Two-Network in Japan.[31] It also acquired a majority stake in the Turkish supermarket chain Kipa.[32] In January 2004, Tesco acquired Adminstore, owner of 45 Cullens, Europa, and Harts convenience shops, in and around London.[33] |
Tesco (6)Diversification: In Thailand, Tesco Lotus was a joint venture of the Charoen Pokphand Group and Tesco, but facing criticism over the growth of hypermarkets CP Group sold its Tesco Lotus shares in 2003. In late 2005 Tesco acquired the 21 remaining Safeway/BP shops after Morrisons dissolved the Safeway/BP partnership.[34] In mid-2006 Tesco purchased an 80% stake in Casino's Leader Price supermarkets in Poland, which were then rebranded as small Tesco shops.[35]
On 9 February 2006, Tesco announced plans to move into the United States by opening a chain of small format groceries in the Western states (Arizona, California, and Nevada) in 2007 named Fresh & Easy.[36]
In 2010, Tesco started funding a small film studio intended to produce Tesco exclusive direct-to-DVD films. The first film was released on 6 September called Paris Connections, based on a popular novel by Jackie Collins. |
