Tesco is a British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer with headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and ninth-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues. It has stores in 12 countries across Asia and Europe and is the market leader of groceries in the UK, Ireland, Hungary, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Tesco was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen as a group of market stalls. The Tesco name first appeared in 1924, after Cohen bought a shipment of tea from T. E. Stockwell and combined those initials with the first two letters of his surname. The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1947 as Tesco Stores (Holdings) Ltd.
The first self-service store opened in St Albans in 1947 (which remained operational until 2010), and the first supermarket in Maldon in 1956. In 1961 Tesco Leicester made an appearance as Britain’s first Hypermarket.
In 1974, the chain acquired 70 Williamsons stores, 200 Harrow Stores outlets, 212 Irwins stores, 97 Charles Phillips stores and the Victor Value chain. This purchase meant that Tesco was now able to sell everything from medicines to clothing under one roof.
By the early 1990s, Tesco had established itself as one of Britain’s leading retailers. In 1992 it became involved with electronic retailing for the first time when it launched its online shopping service Tesco Direct; this was followed in 1994 by the launch of Tesco Metro.
Is Tesco only in the UK?
No,Tesco is not only present in the UK but it has a strong presence in other countries as well including Asian and European countries where it is considered as one of the leading retail chains.
