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Page4: Introduction, Objectives
INTRODUCTION
Tesco is one of the best known names in the high street. It is a large public limited company (plc) with approximately 165 000 shareholders. By 1995, Tesco had become the largest food retailer in the UK, overtaking Sainsbury's. The company operates over 800 stores throughout Europe.
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
Tesco sets objectives for the four main areas of its business:
customers operations people (ie employees) shareholders.
Figure 1: The Tesco Steering Wheel
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Page 5: Development of Tesco, Tesco's presence in Central Europe
After serving in the First World War, Jack Cohen used his savings and started selling groceries in Londonl East End markets. Tesco was founded in 1924. The name was based on the initials of T E Stockwell, a partner in a firm of tea suppliers, and the first two letters of Cohen. In 1929, the first store was opened in Edgware, North London. The business prospered and, in 1947, Tesco Stores (Holdings) Ltd was floated on the Stock Exchange. In 1956, the first self-service supermarket was opened. Apart ftom opening new stores, Tesco has expanded by taking over other businesses. For example, in 1992, it bought 57 William Low stores in Scotland and, in 1997, it purchased 109 stores in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland ftom ABF pie.
Tesco is an ambitious company with plans to open more new stores in the United Kingdom (UK). However, in recent years, a major part of the firm's strategy has been to open stores in other European countries.