History of TESCO.
Sir jack Cohen, commonly known as Jack Cohen (1898-1979) was a British businessman who founded the TESCO supermarket chain. He was born in Whitechapel in the East End of London and was the son of a tailor. Jack Cohen served in the Royal Air force during the First World War. After returning in 1919, 21 year old Jack invested 30 pounds of his reward for military service to buy surplus food stockpiles and he opened a little stall in Hackney, East London. On the first day he had a four pound turnover and one pound profit. Little by little, his business started to expand and Jack expanded into other markets all over London. He also began wholesale trade.
The first line of Cohen brand goods placed on the market was TESCO tea. In 1924, the name which the company later took on as its corporate name emerged. The name TESCO contains the initials of the owner of the firm, Mr. T.E Stockwell, who supplied the firm (Jack Cohen) with tea and of the initials of Jack's surname- Cohen. Towards the end of the twenties, instead of stall trade Jack focused on window shop trade taking place on the main street. The name TESCO was first veiled in 1929 above a TESCO store in North London (Burnt ...
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The first line of Cohen brand goods placed on the market was TESCO tea. In 1924, the name which the company later took on as its corporate name emerged. The name TESCO contains the initials of the owner of the firm, Mr. T.E Stockwell, who supplied the firm (Jack Cohen) with tea and of the initials of Jack's surname- Cohen. Towards the end of the twenties, instead of stall trade Jack focused on window shop trade taking place on the main street. The name TESCO was first veiled in 1929 above a TESCO store in North London (Burnt Oak, Edgware).
In 1932 TESCO stores limited became a private company. Two years later, Jack Cohen bought a piece of land in North London (Angel Road, Edmonton) which is where he intended to construct a new head office. Additionally Jack wanted a warehouse there as well. The construction plan had proposed and specified new ways of register control and the warehouse became the first modern building of this type in the country. At the beginning, the stock kept fifty branches going, and in 1939, the number doubled. The first TESCO self-service store had begun in 1948 in St Albans and furthermore the first supermarket was opened in 1956, within a small converted cinema in Maldon, Essex.
Since the World War, TESCO Stores Corporation have been growing steadily and moving from strength to strength. TESCO's first "superstore" was opened in 1968 in Crawley, West Sussex. It began selling petrol in 1974 and its annual turnover reached one billion pounds in 1979. The superstore introduced a loyalty card, branded "Clubcard" in 1995 and later an internet shopping service. During the 1990s, TESCO superstores expanded into Central Europe, Ireland and East Asia. In July 2001, it became involved in internet grocery retailing in the USA when it obtained a 35% stake in GroceryWorks. In October 2003, it launched a UK telecoms division, comprising of mobile and home phone services, to complement its existing internet service. In August 2004, it also launched a broadband service.
In addition to opening more of its own stores, TESCO has also expanded by taking over other chains in other parts of the UK and other places around the world, including:
* Thirteen HIT hypermarkets, Poland, 2002
* T&S Stores, owner of the UK convenience store chains One Stop and Day & Nite, 2002
* C Two-Network in Japan, 2003
* A high stake in the Turkish supermarket chain Kipa, 2003
* Lotus, Thailand
