Introduction
This report is aimed at critically analysing the macro, meso and micro business environment of Tesco, one of the largest food and grocery retailers in the world, operating around 4,331 stores. Strategic evaluation tools such as PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, SWOT and Value Chain analysis have been used by researchers in order to achieve this aim.
Tesco – Company Overview
Tesco is among the largest food retailers in the world with revenue in excess of £54 billion in 2009 and employing over 470,000 people . They operate approximately 4,331 stores in 14 countries around the world. The company operates primarily in the USA, Europe and Asia and their Head Office is based in Hertfordshire, UK. According to Datamonitor (2010), the commercial network portfolio of Tesco comprises : over 960 Express stores which sell approximately 7,000 products including fresh foods at suitable localities ; 170 Metro stores which sell a variety of food products in town and city centres; and 450 superstores which sell both food and non-food items including books and DVDs. Tesco also provides online retailing services through their website tesco.com and Tesco Direct . In addition, they provide broadband I nternet connections and financial services through Tesco Personal Finance (TPF). Tesco was founded in 1919 and launched its first store in Edgware, London, UK in 1929 (Tesco, 2010); however, over the decades it has evolved to become the market leader within the UK food retail segment (Datamonitor, 2010). The comparative positioning of Tesco’s market share with respect to other leading players in the market has been illustrated as follows (Euromonitor, 2010):
Fig 1: Share of Leading Players in UK Food Retail Market
3. PESTEL Analysis
The PESTEL framework below analyses the dynamic and unpredictable environment in which Tesco operates by identifying the forces that have the most impact on
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