Executive Summary
Tesco (LON:TSCO) is an international retail chain. Established by Jack Cohen in 1919, the group has grown to become one of the largest international retailers in the world operating in 14 markets, including China, India, Japan, and the USA. It has 4811 stores worldwide, with staff of over 470,000. It is the largest retailer in the UK and the third largest retailer globally. Its principal activity is food retailing, with over 2,000 stores worldwide but it has expanded into different formats / markets including clothing, financial services, music download and electronics.
Company History
The company's history is described below:
- 1932: Tesco Stores Limited is founded.
- 1947: Tesco Stores (Holdings) Limited begins trading shares of its stock to the public.
- 1959: Tesco acquires the 200-store grocery chain Harrow Stores Ltd., one of numerous grocery chains the company acquired during the late 1950s.
- 1968: Tesco opens its first superstore, a 40,000-square-foot store in Sussex.
- Late 1970s: As part of an extensive reorganization program, Tesco closes 500 stores.
- 1983: The company changes its name to Tesco plc.
- 1994: As part of a concerted push into continental Europe, Tesco acquires majority control of Global, a 43-store supermarket chain in Hungary.
- 1997: Terry Leahy is appointed chief executive officer.
- 2000: Tesco launches its e-commerce business, Tesco.com.
- 2003: Tesco acquires T&S Stores plc with the intention of converting them to Tesco Express outlets
- 2004: the company expands into the provision of Broadband
- 2006: Tesco announces plans to expand into the US market under the name 'Fresh and Easy'
- 2008: The company announces sales of £51.8bn, and pre-tax profits of £2.8bn. In the same year, it acquired some rival Somerfield stores.
Current Events
The company has currently reported the following events:
- It has acquired the remaining 50% share of Tesco Personal Finance from RBS.
- It has purchased 36 hypermarkets from E-land in South Korea, which are mainly based in Seoul.
- It has opened 9m square feet of new retail space, including the above acquisition.
- The company has entered the Indian market with plans to establish a cash and carry operation and franchise agreement with Trent [1] to support Star Bazaar hypermarkets.
Business Model
Tesco has a long term strategy for growth, based on four key parts: growth in the Core UK business, to expand by growing internationally, to be as strong…
