UK Volume 21

uk.superbrands.com Superbrands UK Annual Vol.21 Tesco was founded in 1919 when Jack Cohen , fresh from serving in World War I, set up a stall in Well Street Market, Hackney. With a commitment to offering great value for customers, Tesco has grown over the last 100 years into the UK’s leading grocer. It now has 400,000 colleagues and 6,700 stores worldwide Market Tesco is the UK’s largest grocer with a 27% market share (Source: Kantar WorldPanel). Its offering is unparalleled in the grocery market, providing customers with affordable, quality and sustainable products. It serves nearly 50 million shoppers every week in the UK, both online and across a range of store formats. In 2017, Tesco acquired Booker, the UK’s leading wholesaler. By combining the retail expertise of Tesco and the wholesale expertise of Booker, Tesco positioned itself as the UK’s leading food business, accessing new avenues of growth such as the out-of-home market. Product Tesco offers an expansive range of groceries, including 16 great value Exclusively at Tesco brands. This is complemented by its clothing brand, F&F; exclusive homeware brands, Go Cook and Fox & Ivy; other general merchandise available in larger stores; as well as Tesco Mobile and Tesco Bank, offering mobile phone and banking products. Achievements Over the last five years, Tesco has taken decisive action as part of its efforts to become a stronger, more customer-focused business. 2019 marked the completion of this turnaround, which spanned re-engaging colleagues, resetting relationships with suppliers and a focus on serving customers better. This has not only added value for shareholders but also placed Tesco in a strong position to respond to the impact of Covid-19, one of the most disruptive periods in its 100-year history. Marketing Week recognised Tesco as its Brand of the Year 2020. Furthermore, in 2019, Tesco was voted by customers as Britain’s Favourite Supermarket, for a fifth consecutive year, at The Grocer Gold Awards. Numerous other industry accolades include Grocer awards, for both service and availability in 2019 and 2020. It was also recognised as Supermarket of the Year 2019 at the Retail Industry Awards and Online Retailer of the Year 2019 at the IGD Awards. Tesco’s communications are also multi-award winning. The Food Love Stories campaign was recognised at the Retail Week Awards 2019 and Media Week Awards 2018. It also received the Grand Prix at Thinkbox TV Planning Awards, 2019 and a prestigious Media Lions Grand Prix at Cannes. Furthermore, Tesco’s Centenary campaign won Best Paid Social Media at the Digital Drum Awards 2020 and Tesco Magazine was Highly Commended for Best Use of Content at the Marketing Week Masters 2018. Recent Developments The outbreak of Covid-19 saw an unprecedented, sudden increase in demand, putting pressure on the whole food supply chain, including stores. Tesco had to rapidly adapt its response, focusing on four key areas: providing food for all, safety for everyone, support for colleagues and support for communities. The investments and improvements that Tesco had made over the last five years in the online business meant that it was able to quickly ramp up online capacity when the outbreak started. It increased total slots from around 600,000 before the crisis to just under 1.5 million in August, supporting more than 650,000 vulnerable customers. In August 2020, Tesco announced the creation of 16,000 new permanent roles to bolster its exceptional online growth. This is in addition to the 4,000 permanent jobs already created since the start of the pandemic. Tesco has committed to removing one billion pieces of plastic from its UK stores by the end of 2020. Addressing the key sustainability challenges caused by food production and consumption is a longstanding priority for Tesco – ensuring products are good for customers, good for the planet, and good for the people that produce them. Tesco fulfilled the first-ever online grocery order , made by customer Jane Snowball, in 1984 DID YOU KNOW?