Information AboutTesco |
Tesco PLC () is a United Kingdom -based international Supermarket chain. It is the largest British Retail er, both by global sales and by domestic market share, and the fourth largest retailer in the world behind Wal-mart of the United States, Carrefour of France, and Home Depot of the United States. Originally specialising in food, it has moved into areas such as Clothes , Consumer Electronics , consumer Financial Services , Internet service and consumer Telecoms . Tesco's revenue for the 52 weeks to 25 February 2006 was £38.3 billion. In 2006 it adjusted the accounting date for its non-UK and Ireland operations, and including 60 weeks of non-UK and Ireland operations revenue was £39.5 billion. Group profit before tax was £2.210 billion for the 52 week period and £2.235 billion including 60 weeks of non-UK and Ireland turnover. According to TNS Superpanel Tesco's share of the UK grocery market in the 12 weeks to 29 January 2005 was 30.6%. Across all categories, over £1 in every £8 of UK retail sales is spent at Tesco. Tesco also operates overseas, and non-UK revenue for the year to 25 February 2006 was 24% of total revenue. HISTORY 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 . The name derrived after Jack Cohen bought a large shipment of Tea from ''T.E. Stockwell'' (formally Messrs Torring and Stockwell of Mincing Lane), 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". There is a wide mis-conception that the name is an abbreviation of the name of Jack Cohen's wife, Tessa Cohen, becoming TESCO - however this is wrong as Jack was never married to a Tessa. In the late 1990s, the typeface of the logo was changed to the current one shown on the top of the page with stripe reflections underneath the typefaces as Tesco used them on their carrier bags. The first Tesco store was opened in 1929 in Burnt Oak , Edgware , London . The firm was 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 2006 as a Tesco Metro store. The first Tesco supermarket was opened in 1956 in a converted Cinema in Maldon , Essex . It has been said that it began own-label canning at the former Goldhanger Fruit Farms factory, sited a few miles from Maldon in the village of Tolleshunt Major , despite Goldhanger being another nearby village. The factory has since been sold. It is now a transport depot, with several other business units on the site. 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 . Also In 1975 Tesco opened one of its first Hypermarket s in Irlam . The first Hypermarket under the "Extra" name opened in 1997. In 1994 , the company took over the Scottish supermarket chain William Low . Tesco successfully fought off Sainsbury's for control of the Dundee -based firm, which operated 57 stores north of the border, paving the way for Tesco to expand its weak presence in Scotland. To the present day, Tesco has based its Scottish headquarters at the former Wm. Low offices in Dundee. From small beginnings in Scotland - Inverness was recently branded as "Tescotown" It introduced a Loyalty Card branded ' Clubcard ' in 1995 and later an Internet shopping service. During the 1990 s 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 GroceryWorks. In October 2003 it launched a UK telecoms division, comprising of mobile and home phone services, to complement its existing Internet Service Provider business. In August 2004 , it also launched a Broadband service. On 9 February 2006 Tesco announced that it plans to move into the United States by opening a chain of convenience stores, starting on the West Coast in 2007. In addition to opening its own stores, Tesco has expanded by taking over other chains, including:
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