Tesco - A World famous Retailer...

While discussing about grocery market in UK, we cant forget the popular name Tesco. Well, I know you will first think about Tesco - One of the giant retailer in UK. There were also well-known grocery stores named Sainsbury’s, Ads, Safeway, Somerfield, Kwik Save, but Tesco led always first amongst all. A Vibrant person named Jack Cohen founded Tesco in 1919 using his bonus form World War I army service. In 1924, Cohen bought a tea shipment from TE Stockwell. The First three letters of ‘TE Stockwell’ and the first two letters of ‘Cohen’ were used to make up the name ‘Tesco’. Jack was influenced by the supermarket culture in America and tried to introduce the concept in the UK. Through this philosophy “Pile it high and sell it cheap”, Tesco has achieved pillars of success, and went public. Tesco was one of the first self-service supermarket.

• By the time, Tesco acquired several companies like Burnards, Williamsons,John Irwins, Victor Value and thus contributed a larger share in grocery market.

Tesco’s Way

Strategies at Tesco:

How Strategic Wheel helped Tesco?

• This balanced scoreboard was nothing but a management tool that directed the focus of business initiative on delivering the core purpose of Tesco.
• It had brought together Tesco’s world in all areas.
• It had acted as a gauge the performance.
• ‘Steering Wheel’ was aimed at to change organizations from being financially driven to mission driven.. It has four quandrants.
• Tesco way – One in the front
• Clubcard concept
  • helped to know Customers’ preferences and Location for store. One of the first loyalty scheme introduced by Tesco in the UK, a card with a magnetic strip. The card was given to all Tesco customers. For 1$ spent, the cardholders were given 1 point. Ever quarter Tesco calculated the points accumulated by the customers and mailed them the vouchers. Thus Tesco come to know the customers’ preferences.
• No one tries harder for customer
  • To enable customer with a better shopping experience it had made special parking areas for mothers with newborn kids and packing the customers bags to reduce waiting time in the queue.
• Listening to Customer – ‘Value Line’, ‘One in the front scheme’
  • After listening customers for too much waiting times at the check-out counters, it had introduced this scheme, aimed at minimizing customers waiting time.

SWOT Analysis:

Strengths:

• Tesco competed only on price because goods available at Tesco store were perceived to be of mediocre quality.
• Steering Wheel which was based on ‘Balanced Scoreboard’ a concept introduced by Dr.Robert S. Kalpan and Dr. David P. Nortan in an article published in Harvard Business Review in 1992.

Weaknesses overcome by Tesco:

• With the rising income levels, customer all over Britain were turned to high and luxury merchandise.So, Paying heed at customer demand, Tesco closed down some of its stores to concentrate on larger stores with better facilities.
• Tesco went for revamp of its product portfolio. And came up with wider range of qualified goods.

Contemplation from my side:

• I will called Steering Wheel – as the best strategy of Tesco which had steered the company to reach at the acme of a
• I will call this Steering Wheel as a ‘Virtuous Circle’.
• Tesco -  customer-focused business, earned a lot of laurel from customer through out the world.
• Tesco – A Leading Retailer,  had really earned lifetime loyalty of customer by creating value for them.
• Tesco’s strategy of giving respect, value and importance was fantastic.

My Salute to Tesco. :)

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