Select ONE Retailer of Your Choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Select ONE Retailer of Your Choice - Essay Example If the global sales and domestic market share of the company is taken into account then it is found that the company is the largest British retailer by far. The profit of the company exceeded ?2 billion for the year 2008 and it is believed that the profit will be much higher in the year 2009. The company mainly focuses upon food and drink but it has also started dealing in clothes, financial services, internet services etc. â€Å"Tesco started life in 1919 when Jack Cohen started selling surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London. Mr. Cohen recorded a profit of ?1 from total sales of ?4 on his first day.† (A History of Tesco) The brand Tesco first appeared in the year 1924 when Jack Cohen supposedly bought a tea shipment from Mr. T. E Stockwell. The year 1929 marked the opening of a store in North London and the company rapidly developed from there on. The head quarters of the company was first established in North London in the 1930s. In the year 1932 the compan y became a private limited company, another feather in the cap of Tesco. Expansion of the Company The expansion of the company traces back to the year 1950 when the company quickly bought rival shops so as to expand and compete with other Giants. In another endeavor to do so, the company bought as many as 70 William stores and an unprecedented 200 Harrow stores. 1960s saw a revolution in the supermarket trend, the stores started selling more products in larger shops and Tesco was quick to capitalize on the very same opportunity. In the year 1961, the Guinness book of records acknowledged that Tesco was the largest store in the whole of Europe and more growth followed as the company opened another Superstore in Sussex. â€Å"Supermarkets once and for all changed the way people shopped and by the 1970s Tesco was building a national store network to cover the whole of the UK, which it continues to expand to this day, while also making other products available to its customers.† (A History of Tesco) The company recorded annual sale of ?1bn in the year 1979 and the sales doubled by the year 1982. The year 1987 was historical for the company as the company completed a successful takeover of their supermarket rivals Hillards for a whopping ?220m. The term superstore was an alien term but Tesco was the first company to introduce this term, the term referred to two aspects of the company, namely the size of their store and secondly the vast choice of inexpensive food and other items to choose from. The appearance of the stores mattered a lot and in order to ensure that the stores looked great, the company spent massive amount in order to put some daylight between their competitors. The company also took into account the parking space for the customers and ensured that their customers were provided with enough space and a wide range of products to choose from. The company was the first to install enhanced lightning and also widened its aisles. The company extensi vely worked on providing its customers with fresh food items to choose from. The company stopped depending on the manufacturers by opening a centralized warehouse to cater to the demands of its various stores spread across the whole of Europe. The company teamed up with Marks & Spencer to establish stores in all major cities, in an attempt to do so the company established a 65,000 square foot superstore which was