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Leadership Transition at Tesco – The Challenges in Store for Dave Lewis
Background Note
Tesco, a multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer, was established in the year 1919 by Jack Cohen (Cohen). In the initial days, Cohen sold groceries from a stall within the East End market of Brixton, London. Tesco as a company got its name when Cohen bought a shipment of tea from T.E. Stockwell. The initial letters of the names of Cohen and T.E. Stockwell formed the name TESCO, which opened its first store in Burn Oak, North London. The company gained momentum in the 1930s in spite of a depression worldwide. Cohen built a warehouse at headquarters to minimize transportation costs and, by 1932, Tesco became a Private Limited Company (PLC). Over the next eight years, the company grew rapidly and Cohen opened more than 100 small stores mainly in the London area. In 1947, Tesco Stores (Holdings) Limited listed with a share price of 25 pence. Over the next two decades, the company expanded quickly across the country. ....... |
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Ian MacLaurin (MacLaurin), who became managing director in 1973, took up the responsibility of generating profits for the company in tough times. By 1976, Tesco was operating nearly 900 superstores and supermarkets which were run on the principle of ‘pile it high, sell it cheap’ – a concept borrowed from the US. Though this strategy helped it to attract a large number of customers, it also served to brand it as a store for middle class customers and gave it a low-end image........
