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ULMS 270 The Critical Analysis of Tesco's Development and The Opportunity of Furthering International Growth
ULMS 270 The Critical Analysis of Tesco's Development and The Opportunity of Furthering International Growth
Olivia Maloney
200987842
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Table of Contents
Title Page 1
Introduction 3
Company background 3 -4
Competition 4-5
Development and Analysis 5-9
Conclusion 9-10
References 11-12
Appendices 13-15
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Introduction
will briefly cover the background of the company, how the company was
established and grew and where it stands today, including their current
values, visions and goals. I will then move on to discuss the competition
which Tesco faces today, including the up and coming rivals of discounted
retailers known as Aldi and Lidl, and how their success has impacted
Tesco. As well as over the years and present times Tesco has also been
economy, how the recession forced Tesco to changed their strategy and
Tesco, ultimately in the worlds largest economy, the USA. I will critically
analyse Tesco re-entering the market with their original idea of health
Company background
Tesco is a successful global food retail brand, in 2015 the company was
billion (Forbes, 2015). The company was first founded in 1919 by Jack
Cohen, starting out selling surplus groceries on a stall in East London. Five
years on from this the Tesco brand was established, the name was formed
from the first three letters of the suppliers name (TES) and the first two
letters of Cohens surname (CO). Cohen opened the first store in 1929, the
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growth of Tesco flourished throughout the early 90s with the company
2015 the company appointed new CEO Dave Lewis, and chairman John
chairman. The board is responsible for the company values, long term
visions and strategic direction. The chief executive is responsible for and
The main market the company operates in is the UK, totalling over 3500
shoppers a little better every day (Tesco plc, 2015), their vision is solely
the last. Originally the firm concentrated on specialising in food and drink
Competition
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Tesco holds the greatest market share of the grocery industry with the
company holding 28% of total market share from the last 12 weeks ending
and firms are interdependent. In the last 24 months Tesco along with the
big 4 have seen little or no growth in their market share. The main reason
for this is the up and coming discount retailers such as Aldi and Lidl. Since
incomes. This has resulted in competitors Aldi and Lidl soaking up market
share (Appendix 2). In the last 24 months alone we can see that both
stores have had positive, steady market share growth which shows no
sign of changing. For Tesco this is a huge threat, we can see from
appendix 2 that their market share has had no positive growth, which in
turn will have had impacted their profits. Tescos turnover from the year
before February 2015 was 62.2 million, this is 1.3 million less than the
threatened by its competition, especially those of Aldi and Lidl, this has
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Development and Analysis
The food retail industry is a vast market, totalling a 177.5 billion worth
from the year to March 31st 2015 (IGD, 2015), with being such a large
regards to this there has been a decline in the demand for ready meals
products, the company also launched their Healthy living food range in
2014 which focuses on two concepts; low calorie dishes and balanced
quickly before sales and market share is negatively affected, thus keeping
In addition to the cultural factors affecting the industry one factor which
economy. The economy affects the retail market through their consumers,
alongside. A specific example we could use for this is the impact of the
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saw a rise in unemployment and consumers having less disposable
proving to be their worst growth rate in 15 years (Daily Mail, 2008). This
prompting them to look elsewhere for cheaper goods which they could
Aldi who accommodated for this demand for affordable goods the switch
in consumer tastes showed only positive results on their sales and growth.
Responding to this Tesco has fought back with price cuts of 100s of items,
stating Prices down and staying down in order to compete with such
discounted retailers and not lose out on further market share and
development. Tesco invested 500 million in the Big Price Drop in 2011,
the aim was to help families struggling in the economic downturn, and
thus influencing customers to stay loyal to their brand rather than switch
over to rivals.
Although the recession came to end in 2012, the demand for discounted
seems to only be steadily on the incline, which we can see from the
Lidl. In 2013 Aldi alone increased its sales growth rate by 36.1%, despite
the market growth for food retailers being at its lowest level in 11 years
consumers expect more for their money. As a result, this has stunted the
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consumers shift to other competitors. The vast majority of the period
between the beginning of 2014 and the end of 2015 has been spent
having negative market growth rates for all the top 4 firms (Appendix 3).
Tescos main market is situated in the UK, it could be argued that their
profits and successes are heavily dependent on this sole market. Looking
not to solely rely on the UK for profits due to recent patterns of the firm
for Tesco if the market was to decline or trends carry on in favour of their
competitors sales. Overseas stores account for only 20% of Tescos total
Tesco so far have done well overseas, their growth has been limited to
Europe and Asia, there are still numerous opportunities for Tesco to further
their international growth in other areas. For example, one market which
the company could attempt to tackle is the USA. One main country I
believe that Tesco should focus on is the USA. Despite already failing to
market trends are not one to be unnoticed by Tesco. With sales in 2014
(Euromonitor, 2015).
Tesco has previously tried to compete in this market with the launch of
Fresh & Easy in 2007, however despite the extensive consumer research
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which was undertaken the chain was negatively affected by the economy.
The main areas where the chain was focused were badly hit by the
economic downturn and recession in the launch and growth stage of this
having less disposable income, they were less inclined to purchase fresh,
more expensive goods and switched to cheaper products which were sold
Wal-Mart. However, this was not all failure for Tesco, the firm succeeded
when recognising the growing trend for healthier lifestyles in America and
market when the economy was at its worst, thus wants and needs were
shifted I still believe that this idea could thrive in the current health-
presenting less risk. Americas GDP has been growing at a steady 2.3%
(average) since 2012 (Trading Economics, 2015, appendix 4), this could
healthier lifestyle I believe that Tesco could flourish in the market if they
Although the US economy has been stabilised showing positive signs for
retailers such as Tesco wishing to enter the market, it has to be noted that
24.5% of market share of the grocery market (Statista, 2015) this large
rival may be difficult for Tesco to break, as loyal customers may prove
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steadily rising with the past 4 years showing the countries GNI has
growth rates the economy is becoming richer, thus the individuals. As the
mean that stores are predicting to have strong growth periods for the
future. I believe that if Tesco was to stick with the niche idea of solely
focusing organic fresh produce and healthier food this may act as a
entering urban cities because of their size (Euromonitor, 2015). There has
been a shift towards demand for smaller convenience stores, Tesco could
use this to their advantage as it provides a great opportunity for their idea
Conclusion
was much more favourable I do believe that they could be very successful,
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Tesco were to begin to succeed and grow in particular in this market it
From their previous ventures in countries across Europe and Asia we can
see that Tesco have the ability to adapt their stores to local needs and
produce due to the rising health conscious trend, and unfortunately in the
past I believe this idea failed in the USA mainly because of the economic
economy and growing health trends will favour this niche idea and help
Tesco to further their success and become less reliant on their home
profits.
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References
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News.bbc.co.uk, (2016). BBC News | Tesco's global growth, Big ambitions.
[online] Available at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/business_tesco0s_glo
bal_growth/html/8.stm [Accessed 4 Jan. 2016].
Statista, (2016). Food market share grocery retailers United States, 2014 |
Statistic. [online] Available at:
http://www.statista.com/statistics/240481/food-market-share-of-the-
leading-food-retailers-of-north-america/ [Accessed 6 Jan. 2016].
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Appendix
Worldpanel,
2015)
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Appendix 4: US GDP growth rate from the period 2012-2015, (Trading
Economics, 2015)
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