TESCO’s Marketing Strategies and the UK Consumer Perceptions
Introductory Background
According to the report by Solar Navigator (2007) Tesco was founded by Jack Cohen, who sold groceries in the markets of the London East End from 1919. The Tesco brand first appeared in 1924. After Jack Cohen bought a large shipment of tea from T.E. Stockwell, he made new labels by using the first three letters of the supplier's name and the first two letters of his surname forming the word "TESCO". Tesco’s first store was opened in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Edgware, London; and the firm was first floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1947. The first Tesco self-service store opened in 1948 in St Albans and is still trading in 2005, while its first supermarket was opened in 1956 in a converted cinema in Maldon, Essex. Tesco is the U.K.’s largest grocery chain.
Tesco’s marketing activities have evolved substantially over the decades (Reed, 2006). In 1974 it hit the big market and began selling petrol and its annual turnover reached one billion pounds in 1979. Also In 1975 Tesco opened one of its first Hypermarket's in Irlam, and in 1995 it introduced a loyalty card branded 'Clubcard', and later an Internet shopping service. During the 1990s it 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 Grocery-works. In October 2003 it launched a UK telecoms division, comprising of mobile and home phone services, to complement its existing internet service provider business, and in August 2004, it also launched a broadband service (Solar Navigator report, 2007).
The Corporate and Marketing Strategies of TESCO
Going by the company’s Mission Statement which is embedded in their ...