Tesco
| Tesco plc
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | Public Limited Company |
| ISIN | GB0008847096 |
| founding | 1919 |
| Seat |
Cheshunt , Hertfordshire , United Kingdom
|
| management |
|
| Number of employees | 450,000 (2019) |
| sales | 56883000000 GBP (2019) |
| Branch | retail trade |
| Website | www.tesco.com |
Tesco is a British supermarket chain with global operations and the UK's largest retail chain. Tesco operates more than 6,800 supermarkets worldwide and employs more than 440,000 people. Outside the United Kingdom , the chain has branches in Ireland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Thailand and Malaysia (as of 2018).
history
The company's origins go back to 1919 when entrepreneur Jack Cohen opened a market stall in London's East End . He had acquired the first inventory with the release money that had been paid to him when he left the British Royal Flying Corps . In 1924, Cohen began selling his first own brand , Tesco Tea. He had formed the name from the initials of his tea trading partner TE Stockwell and the first two letters of his own surname.
The first store opened in Burnt Oak , London , in 1929 . In 1934 Jack Cohen purchased a piece of land on Angel Road, Edmonton, North London , to build new corporate headquarters and a modern warehouse. In the following years, the entrepreneur succeeded in steadily expanding the business by buying up existing shops in the London suburbs. In 1947, Tesco Stores shares were first traded on the London Stock Exchange at a price of 25 pence .
An exploration trip to North America in 1948 led Jack Cohen to the decision to convert his stores to self- service. The first store with this new sales concept opened in St Albans , Hertfordshire in 1948 and initially led to mixed customer reactions. The great success of the self-service idea that followed enabled the company to acquire more than 500 new retail stores between 1955 and 1960. In 1958 the first supermarket opened in Maldon , Essex . It was equipped with a service counter for cheese, butter and meat; These fresh products were portioned, weighed and packed by the sales staff according to the customer's wishes.
In 1960 the company began selling household goods and clothing across the UK. The acquisition of hundreds of competing businesses further strengthened Tesco's market position. In 1963 a customer loyalty program was introduced for the first time , the so-called "Green Shield Stamps". These were collective stamps that were issued at the cash register and could later be exchanged for catalog goods. In 1968 the first Tesco superstore opened in Crawley , West Sussex , with a retail space of over 3,700 m². Food and non-food items were offered.
In 1973 the company moved into its new headquarters ("New Tesco House") in Cheshunt , Hertfordshire. In the same year, the first Tesco petrol stations went into operation at larger market locations. In 1977 the issue of the Green Shield Stamps was discontinued and a low-price campaign called "Checkout at Tesco" was started instead. The company's founder, Jack Cohen, passed away two years later.
The computer age began for Tesco in 1982 with the introduction of the first digital cash registers. Computers for Schools, a high-profile charity program to improve school IT equipment, was initiated in 1992 and has since made £ 185 million available to educational institutions. In the same year the first Tesco Metro store opened in Covent Garden , London. With this concept, products tailored to regional customers with a focus on "lunch break snacks" are offered on a comparatively small sales area of approx. 930 m². A year later, Tesco introduced the advertising slogan "Every little helps." a (German about "Every bit helps." or "Small cattle make crap").
In 1993 the company introduced its price-conscious customers to its own brand Tesco Value, which can still be found on the shelves today, and in 1994 the first Tesco Express stores opened, which have a greatly reduced range and are intended for "quick shopping during the week" were.
In 1995, Tesco expanded abroad for the first time and acquired 26 supermarkets in north-western Hungary . In the same year the Clubcard was introduced, Tesco's successful customer loyalty program to this day, which gained almost five million members in the first twelve months. At year end, the Group held the first time a larger market share than competitors Sainsbury's . In 1996 the first Tesco stores remained open around the clock and the company expanded its sales activities to the Czech Republic and Slovakia .
In 1997 , the first Tesco Extra, the largest store format in the Tesco portfolio to date, opened in Pitsea , Essex . At the same time, the company ventured into the customer finance business with Tesco Finance and opened the first Tesco stores in Ireland and Poland and only a year later in Thailand (Tesco Lotus). South Korea followed in 1999.
In 2000, the group started the online age with tesco.com and expanded further worldwide in the following years (2002 Malaysia , 2003 Turkey and Japan , 2004 China , 2007 USA ).
At Christmas 2019, a secret message was found on a Christmas card that the card was made under forced labor in Qingpu Prison . Tesco terminated the contract with the manufacturing company. Former prisoners said they had been making Christmas cards and packaging for Tesco for at least two years.
Shareholder structure
The largest shareholder of Tesco is the US financial group BlackRock with 6.64%. Second place was shared by the State Pension Fund of the Kingdom of Norway (managed by Norges Bank Investment Management) and the asset management company Schroders , each with 4.99%.
| Share (in percent) |
Shareholders |
|---|---|
| 6.64 | BlackRock |
| 4.99 | Norges Bank (indirectly for State Pension Fund (Norway) ) |
| 4.99 | Schroders |
| 83.38 | Free float |
As of April 5, 2018
Web links
- British website (English)
- Polish website (Polish)
- Hungarian website (Hungarian)
- Irish website (English)
- Slovak website (Slovak)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Tesco plc: Annual Report 2019. (PDF) Retrieved on August 5, 2019 (English).
- ↑ Our businesses , accessed October 10, 2018.
- ↑ Annual Report 2018, p. 87.
- ↑ Tesco company history
- ↑ China rejects charges of forced labor in prison. Foreign inmates have to produce Christmas cards for a British supermarket in Shanghai, according to a report. China describes the allegations as fabricated. In: Zeit Online. Zeit Online GmbH, December 23, 2019, accessed on December 25, 2019 .
- ^ Tesco PLC - Investors - Major shareholders
Coordinates: 51 ° 42 ′ 19 ″ N , 0 ° 1 ′ 35.1 ″ W.