Tesco Company Profile
Tesco is one of the biggest names in supermarket retail in the UK and across the world.
The supermarket chain accounts for every £1 spent out of £10 within the UK, and this has previously been as high as £1 of every £7. In 2012, Tesco had a 30.2% market share within the UK supermarket and groceries industry. In April 2022 this was 27%*.
The business was started in 1919 by Jack Cohen, selling surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London. In 1929, the first Tesco store opened in Edgware, North London. The Tesco name first appeared in 1924, after Cohen purchased a shipment of tea from T. E. Stockwell and combined those three initials with the first two letters of his surname.
Tesco has grown substantially since this point and has added to through various acquisitions. It completed a merger with Booker Group, the UK’s leading food wholesaler, which helped to create substantial synergies and access to the ‘out-of-home’ food market.
The Tesco Group also includes Tesco Bank, which provides banking, insurance and money services; Tesco Mobile, the UK’s largest mobile virtual network operator; and dunnhumby, a wholly-owned data science subsidiary. In addition, it consists of hundreds of One Stop stores, F&F clothing and Makro wholesale.
Tesco Products and Services:
- Meat, Fish, Poultry, Deli
- Fresh Produce and Flowers
- Grocery and Household
- Frozen Food
- Bakeries, on the move food, prepared meals
- Hospitality
- Clothing
- Home and Beauty
- Tesco Bank
- Tesco Mobile
*According to figures from Kantar.
Ownership
The general public holds a 17% stake in Tesco; this can allow for swaying policy in the public’s favour with a collective impact on company policies. The price for a share is currently around 279.25p.
Many investors have larger stakes in Tesco, such as BlackRock which holds a 6.64% stake. Schroders plc which holds 5%, and many other institutions hold a few % each.
