Valuation of TESCO PLC - Essay Example

Tesco has also entered the US market in 2007 under the name Fresh and Easy and is planning to invest about $500 million for starting a network of 150 stores in the US West Coast. Its retail operations include groceries and food items which accounts for almost 80% of its sales and also has a very profitable online trading business. The company also sells non food items like clothing, electronics, pharmaceuticals, books, insurance, alternative medicines, certain legal services, petrol etc. In terms of turnover Tesco Plc is the fourth largest retailer in the world, the 1st three positions being held by Wal Mart, Carrefour of France and The Home Depot of the USA respectively and ranks 59 in the Fortune Global 500 according to CNNMoney.com. The group has around 3000 stores and employees around 400,000 people worldwide.

It is at present the largest employee in Britain in the private sector. The turnover of the company for the twelve months ending December 2007 was £46 billion and it has increased profit every year except in 1987. As in the case with most fast growing companies Tesco has had its share of accusations and criticism which includes undercutting the competition, exploiting suppliers and workers and of employing child labor in certain markets. Early Days and later expansion: In 1919 John Edward Cohen started a small grocery shop in East London with a thirty pound stipend he received from the Royal Flying Corps.

One of the products he sold was a private brand of tea named Tesco, derived from the name of his supplier Mr. T E Stckwell (the first three letters of his name TES and CO from his surname) and he used this as the name of the his store which he opened in 1929 in North London. The company was incorporated as a private limited company in 1932 named Tesco Stores Ltd. His business flourished and a new headquarters was built on a