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 revenue.
It has stores in 12 countries across Asia and Europe and is the grocery market leader in the UK, Ireland, Hungary, Malaysia, and Thailand.
The company was founded by Jack Cohen as a group of market stalls in 1919. His business expanded rapidly, and by 1939 he had over 100 Tesco stores across the country.
The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1947 as Tesco Stores (Holdings) Ltd. and in 1959 the first self-service store opened. Cohen retired in 1967 and was succeeded by his son-in-law Dennis Beresford.
In 1974, Tesco completed its takeover of the Hillards chain of Supermarkets in the North of England. The company continued to grow throughout the 1970s, and by 1980 it had reached 2,000 stores nationwide with sales exceeding £2 billion per year.
In the 1980s, Tesco grew aggressively into new product areas such as petrol stations, books, music, healthcare products, financial services, and electronics; this diversification was largely driven by former CEO Ian McLeod’s strategy to “Tescoize” every aspect of British life.
In 1995 Tesco introduced a loyalty card called The Clubcard in partnership with Groupe Bull; it now has over 17 million users. In 1997 Tesco took over T&S Stores after a hostile takeover bid. In 2001Tesco purchased Adminstore from Associated British Foods plc (ABF), which madeTesco the largest convenience store operator in the UK.
In 2002 Tesco acquired 24% of Associated British Foods through an open offer; this gave it 36% of voting rights at ABF’s AGM in 2003. In August 2003 Tesco purchased a further 13% of ABF through another open offer taking its total stake to 49%. In 2004 ABF demerged its sugar business Tate & Lyle to form an independent company.
In 2006 Tesco acquired a majority stake (51%) in Casino’s Leader Price Supermarkets for £524 million; this madeTesco France’s fourth largest grocery retailer with 2% market share behind Carrefour (20%), Leclerc (17%), and Auchan (9%).
In 2007 Tesco PLC acquired Polish supermarket chain Zabka for £446 million; this madeTesco Poland’s second largest food retailer after Carrefour with around 11% market share.
Does Tesco sell key lime pie? No, Tesco does not sell key lime pie.
