Management Information Systems of TESCO - Assignment Example

Tesco is a huge British retailer having a strong business operation around the globe. It is considered the third largest retailer globally based upon the revenue that it generates. It was started in the year 1919 by Jack Cohen as a simplified grocery store until 1924 when the Tesco brand was initially launched in 1924. Its first store was opened up in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Edgware, Middlesex. In 1947, it was introduced into the London Stock Exchange and made public and this floatation started the great success story of Tesco plc which has now emerged as one of the tops most renowned supermarket chain is not just the United Kingdom but the entire world.

The first supermarket under the name of Tesco was opened in 1956 in Maldon. Since that time period, the company has operated such smoothly that it has created standards and is nowadays considered as a benchmark for many of its industry competitors. Over the years, the company took over many other supermarkets to make itself a leader in the United Kingdom region (TESCO 2010). The immediate business environment of firms producing similar goods is called the industry. Microenvironment considers factors which are within the industry.

The supermarket industry requires huge capital investment but that alone cannot be used as a barrier to entry. Competitors usually respond by counter-attacking to new entrants. Wal-Mart planned to open 4 small-format grocery stores in Arizona in response to TESCO’s entry to the U.S.A with their Fresh and Easy format. This threat is across or within an industry, close substitutes reduce the profit margin of the competitors e.g. Petrol for Diesel, etc. TESCO has many different competitors which can pose such threat to them, like Sainsbury in the UK, Trader Joe’s in the U.S.A alongside Wal-Mart.