“Poland has a moderate climate. As a result, the weather tends to be capricious and the seasons may look quite different in consecutive years. This is particularly true for winters, which are either wet, of the oceanic type, or - less often - sunny, of the continental type.”
As this shows there are extremely cold winters in Poland and this will affect the Clothes that Tesco’s sells in that country and the food that they produce will have to be as I stated above “warming”. This is shown in Poland’s staple foods, which are Rice, Pasta, bread etc. These are all stereotypical with the climate that exists in Poland and are very different to the food that’s eaten in some parts of Britain which increases Tesco’s costs. Therefore even the culture may be similar in Poland to Britain they will have to target different food, which adds again to the costs of Tesco. Tesco’s has to carry out vast research into what the staple diets of its operating countries are and they will have to produce food that meets their findings criteria i.e. providing the right products and not wrong products that will not sell. This is a costly process and will have a negative effect on the way in which Tesco operates as shareholders can be paid less.
An example for Tesco could be Turkey in this country the majority of its people are Muslim in religious orientation. This has a profound effect on the products that Tesco can sell to the customers in this country. Along side this Turkey is a place of extremes with extreme wealth and extreme poverty which Tesco have to account for, they do this buy offering high quality goods “Tesco’s finest” and low quality products like “Tesco’s value” which allows both extremes of poverty and wealth. The clothing orientation must also match the religion of Turkey “Muslim” which will require a change from the normal Western European countries like France as different ranges must be produced to target the market in the different countries. Tesco’s now run five stores, which were positively received within Turkey.
The Holidays that are in operation in the states that Tesco operates in must be abided by i.e. In the UK “bank holiday” is a day staff have off. Tesco must plan around and take these into account when moving to countries within the European Market. Tesco for example in Turkey had to comply with their religious laws and rules in order to operate in their country. The predominantly Muslim country of Turkey raises many problems for Tesco. Tesco will have to abide by religious laws that state the way that meat should be culled according to the Halal laws this states that the meat should be culled in a humane way. The livestock that Tesco sell must have had the last rights read and prayed for by the people who will kill the animal to be sold. The farmer or the Tesco staff that will kill the animals that will be sold in Turkey must possess a Halal licence. The meat that has been culled in the special way will have a special stamp to show that it has been culled in the way outlined above and is in compliance with the Halal laws. This does increase the costs of Tesco but it is a price they have to pay to operate in Turkey but if they are caught selling meat that is not incompliance with laws they may be banned, finned and for senior figures imprisoned. Turkey counters this by issuing licences to Tesco’s and similar organisations to show that they may operate and sell the meat in that country. It means that Tesco must seize the opportunity provided by Turkey if it is to be an EU state then Tesco stores must cater for the indigenous population as well as for the tourist population therefore they must cater for both these extremes.
There are however some similarities between certain members of the European Union. These are shown in the example of Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg who all celebrate Christmas, Easter and other Christian Holidays can be targeted by Tesco and these products can be standardised across these countries which saves Tesco money as administration and production systems don’t have to be replicated. This provides Tesco with an opportunity to sell products in these countries. However all members of the EU celebrate New Year and this allows Tesco to target the whole of the EU market. Products can be standardised and this allows Tesco to plan each year and target the whole EU market rather than separate countries. Tesco’s have now standardised Public holidays as they can use the same strategies and policies i.e. competition policy that they operate in the UK. New strategies can be implemented that will target the whole of the EU saving time and money for Tesco. Therefore we can see that the differences cost Tesco’s money and these differences have to be catered for and were possible and were possible removed i.e. toys targeted at the whole market so the differences in tastes are changed.
Each year Tesco’s has to spend millions of pounds on research and development in order to make sure that they have the right information about the operating country. This information will be relevant to the markets that Tesco operates in as it is up to date and therefore can be used to target their customers in the EU. This will also allow Tesco’s to react to many changes in supply and demand as this research will highlight what people may want and they can thus change their products and policies to meet these consumer needs. The consumer needs and trends will change in the varying countries of the EU and Tesco have to constantly keep on top and monitor what their customers want. The skilled professionals in Tesco’s market Research function will carry out this research. The people that work here are among the elite in their field and this is what gives Tesco its dominant market position. This allows the best facilities and services to be offered to their customer thus establishing customer loyalty in their countries.
Tesco’s has now had to accept different currencies as not all member of the EU like Britain operate the Euro. This is a major problem and Tesco’s now have to accept these varying currencies at the cash registers this means financial systems have to be able to cope with the differing currencies, which may increase costs and cause a problem in the Tesco stores. This is shown in Poland in the interstate hypermarkets that accept the British currency thus attracting British customers. This option to buy in whatever currency they want exploits Tesco’s customers as it establishes customer loyalty, as the service is easy to use. This allows the Tesco’s organisation to remain competitive against competitors in the EU market place. This will retain their existing customers and attract customers to use the store and establish a customer loyalty base. The Euro will be offered in exchange for the British pound so that customers can choose which currency is more convenient for them to use in their stores.
Tesco’s also has the opportunity to exploit the laws that exist in the countries of the EU. This is important for Tesco, as they can save money, as in Poland there is no minimum wage agreement that is set with the workers. Therefore these workers can be exploited and the local markets for labour allowing Tesco to use this to make vast profits for the Tesco organisation. Tesco’s at present can get away with this as Poland is one country that has not yet signed up to the European law stating a minimum wage for workers as part of the social policy Maastricht Treaty.
Tesco’s have aimed to provide the necessary products to rival competitors in their operating countries in Europe i.e. correct clothing and appropriate food. They have so far been successful this as they have not been prosecuted for operating outside the EU or individual member’s laws. Tesco’s remain dedicated to their customers what ever their religion or culture and they continue to look develop and modify their plans and strategies within these countries. Loyalty is important and Tesco’s now have the respect of their customers as they are at present the leading supermarket in Europe. Tesco’s are now involved in expanding their influence in Europe and below is photograph of a French Tesco’s stores. Tesco’s operates in conjunction with the local laws and EU policies allowing them to operate the best legitimate supermarket in the EU at this present time.
Men have more of a power over the women in these countries in the eastern European countries so the men will be targeted as they have the disposable income to spend. However in the western European countries the men and women will have the same rights and they will thus be targeted the same as the males. This is better as Tesco’s have a bigger target market when they can target the females as well, this will increase the sales and thus the profits. Therefore as we can see Tesco’s business will be affected by the cultures that are apparent within the EU and they will have the tenacious ability to increase Tesco’s costs.