Tesco was very vocal about its intentions to source products locally. This sounds good, but it is hard to believe Thai farmers can keep working on a human scale when trying to supply produce for 47 hypermarkets. Even where Thai products are being used, they are still likely to have been intensively farmed at the expense of small farmers, traditional farming methods and the environment.
The use of centralised distribution centres also means that even if a product is produced locally, it has probably been on an epic journey before it reaches the supermarket. Sourcing local produce does not mean treating local suppliers any better. In July Tesco Lotus was taken to court along with several other international retail chains including Carrefour, and found guilty of charging slotting fees to carry manufacturers' products, charging entry fees to suppliers, advertising fees and product display fees, and displaying own-brand products next to similar branded products.
It is impossible for Tesco to honestly claim to benefit the local economy. It may be increasing the general traffic of money in the area where it sets up new stores — i.
The vast majority of profit goes towards making the corporation — and the directors and shareholders — even richer. In the words of Boonyoong Vimuttayon, a Bangkok grocery store owner whose sales have declined by more than half since a Tesco Lotus store opened on his street four years ago:. However, it seems to be starting a war — of prices, opening hours, and so on - that local retailers cannot possibly compete in.
It seems unlikely that Tesco would even consider taking such a risk in its UK stores, where GM is firmly on the agenda as a consumer issue. A Greenpeace campaigner said:'The loopholes in the labelling law allow multinational companies to dump GM soya into Thailand. It is time to make this law stricter to protect consumers and give them a genuine right to know. Greenpeace South-East Asia continues to campaign against the use of poorer countries as 'GM guinea pigs'.
Tesco has had a presence in Malaysia since , and now has five stores and two more planned for Despite having been in Malaysia for a relatively short time, and having few stores, Tesco's presence has been controversial and a catalyst for the implementation of stricter trading laws.
As of January , there is a five-year freeze on the building of any new hypermarkets in Malysia's three major cities Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor Bahru. In the government ruled that plans for new hypermarkets must be submitted two years in advance and socio-economic impact studies carried out.
There are also new 'zoning rules' which say that there can only be one hypermarket for every , people. However, curbing Tesco's power may prove to be difficult. In March , Tesco decided to continue opening its Puchong store 24 hours a day despite having been told not to do so by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs who cited the negative effect it would have on other retailers in the area. When it first began moving into Malaysia in , Tesco was anxious to make assurances that it would 'work closely with local suppliers to source many own-label products locally'.
It is very hard to imagine how such a large company, with such an emphasis on hypermarkets in so many parts of the world, can ever realistically say it is going to source products for its stores locally. Tesco moved into South Korea in in a joint venture with South Korean company Samsung, opening the Homeplus chain of hypermarkets. It now has 28 stores, all hypermarkets, and plans to open four in [43]. Tesco began its expansion into the notoriously difficult Japanese market in July by buying a Tesco was delighted by the acquisition, Terry Leahy describing it as 'a continuation of our international strategy for long term growth.
C Two-Network provides Tesco with an excellent opportunity to enter a large and unconsolidated market where we have potential to grow. In April , Tesco also acquired Fre'c, another Japanese chain.
According to the Guardian, Tesco is expected to use C Two-Network's links to processed-food wholesalers and Fre'c's knowledge of fresh produce to open between five and ten small stores a year. In Japan, Tesco is relying on customer loyalty to the high street, whilst its US and European rivals, including Wal-Mart, CostCo, Carrefour and Metro believe their fortunes lie in encouraging a culture of out-of-town superstores.
Through its subsidiary C Two- Network, Tesco sells whale, dolphin and porpoise cetacean meat, both fresh and in cans. In the Environmental Investigation Agency EIA carried out a survey which discovered that all the canned cetacean products were sourced from Japan's two major whaling companies, Nissui and Kyokuyo. These two companies own the majority of shares in Kyodo Senpaku, the company who leases whaling boats to the Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research so they can carry out Japan's so-called 'scientific' whaling policy.
The scientific whaling policy was implemented in after a moratorium banned commercial whaling. Now around whales are killed each year in the Antarctic and North Pacific in the name of 'scientific research', including minke whales, Bryde's whales, sei whales and sperm whales. All the meat and blubber is then sold commercially within Japan. Up to 22, dolphins, porpoises and small whales are also killed every year around the Japanese coast in unregulated and unsustainable hunts.
As well as being involved in systematically exterminating cetaceans, these companies could be feeding high quantities of toxins to the consumer. Many of the whales they kill carry high levels of pollutants including methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenols PCBs. China is considered an important but difficult market by international retailers. However, a relaxation of Chinese trading rules after the country's entry to the World Trade Organisation could mean more Western companies move in fairly rapidly.
China is seen as a desirable country for foreign investment because of the increasing encroachment of capitalism and the low cost of labour. It remains to be seen whether Tesco make a move on the latter two. There is also a Chinese dental company called Tesco. As far as we can ascertain they're not related. Tesco has recently acquired a chain in Turkey whose 'European' status is unclear.
Turkey has application status to the EU but no timetable for joining. In both Slovakia and Hungary - where it has had a presence since - Tesco describes itself as the 'market leader'. Kipa is a 'small and profitable chain' that owns five hypermarkets in the Aegean region of Turkey. Poland joined the EU in May Agriculture in Poland has been small-scale, un-mechanised and practically organic by default - it is probably no coincidence that Poland has preserved some of the greatest biodiversity in Europe.
Under new CAP rules, subsidies will be paid per hectare farmed, but farmers in the new countries will be paid a quarter of the amount given to old members. With trade barriers coming down, Polish farmers will be forced into competition with highly industrialised farmers from across Europe. With less subsidies than their Western European counterparts, they will have to massively increase 'productivity' to keep in business. Major European and US agribusiness have now moved into to Poland to take advantage of the cheap land, cheap labour and new markets.
Officials in Poland and Brussels are assuming that large numbers of small, traditional farmers will go out of business. Henryk Zatorski, director of the agricultural chamber for the Wroclaw region believes 'In this region the 40, farmers with seven hectares [17 acres] or less will not survive'.
Bad news for most ordinary people living in Poland perhaps, but great news for Tesco and other transnational supermarkets. A study by Verdict forecasts 'real growth opportunities' for grocery retailing in the newly enlarged EU and mentions Tesco, Carrefour and Metro as the most likely to benefit quickly. Verdict goes on to suggest that these corporations' next priorities should be: 'improving the efficiency of their supply chains, driving productivity initiatives and increasing sales volumes, targeting non-food sales, corporate merger and acquisition activity and developing their multi-faceted trading strengths.
Tesco has been in Ireland since when it purchased the chain Power Supermarkets, owners of Quinnsworth and Stewarts. Tesco has been highly successful in Ireland, reaping the benefits of its huge investment.
According to one report, one out of every four Euros spent on grocery shopping in Ireland ends up in a Tesco till. In December , a senior Tesco executive allegedly warned growers that if they wished to continue selling to Tesco, they must not supply discount retailers Lidl and Aldi. Tesco Ireland has been fined for selling products below their cost price in an attempt to undercut other retailers, and for selling certain products at a higher price in Ireland than in the UK.
In Ireland, the Groceries Order makes persistent below-cost selling illegal, mainly because only big retailers who benefit from economies of scale can afford such practices, and it evidently puts smaller retailers at a disadvantage.
However, rising inflation may see the Groceries Order lifted soon. Tesco's co-accused on this issue is Dunnes Stores, [69] which describes itself as 'Ireland's largest and most successful retailer' and is therefore Tesco's main competitor in Ireland.
Other retailers welcomed the decision to prosecute. When the case came to court in January , Tesco and Dunnes were both fined euros for each of seven counts of selling products below price. Discontented Tesco workers rarely raise their voices. In June , Tesco workers in Ireland voted overwhelmingly to go on strike over pay.
Tesco executives look to the 'street corner' strategy i. Although many would consider convenience stores as supermarkets, the Competition Commission in its report on supermarkets made a clear distinction between the two sectors based on the fact that convenience stores are smaller, in terms of floor space, than supermarkets, and that they cater for 'top-up' rather than 'one trip' shopping.
This 'helpful' distinction basically gave the green light for the supermarket chains to buy up convenience store chains since it creates a loophole in anti-monopoly laws.
Despite recent challenges from remaining independent c-stores and the Federation of Wholesale Distributors, the Office of Fair Trading OFT refuses to change its mind on this. Supercigs has since been sold and Tesco is rumoured June to be in negotiation with TM Retail, which operates Fourbuoys and Martins, to sell Dillons.
These stores will continue to trade as One Stop. Koruna stores were converted into Tesco Express, while Zabka stores continue to trade under that name as part of a franchise agreement. Today there are over Tesco stores across the Czech Republic, employing over 11, colleagues. Tesco Hungary was our first market in the Central Europe region. We entered the market in , with the acquisition of 26 S-Market stores and today operate over stores across the country, served by 16, colleagues.
Tesco Slovakia is one of the four markets in our Central Europe region. We entered the market in with the acquisition of seven K-Mart Department Stores and have grown the business to more than stores, employing more than 10, colleagues.
Our Asia business had operations in Thailand, operating hypermarkets and convenience stores under the Tesco Lotus brand. The sale of our Asia business completed on 18 December Our Asia business operated hypermarkets in Malaysia. Tesco Bank is based in the UK, and aims to be the bank for people who shop at Tesco, providing simple and convenient retail banking and insurance products.
Our operations in India are crucial to the smooth running of Tesco across the Group. Our sourcing team ensure that our stores around the world are well-stocked with products from Indian suppliers. Tesco Bengaluru, the global services arm for Tesco worldwide, provides key business services for Tesco operations globally. Currently the Tesco Bengaluru team is involved in creating and executing strategic initiatives covering IT, Financial, Commercial and Property, among others.
In , we signed a franchise agreement with Trent Ltd, part of the Tata group, to supply Star Bazaar with exclusive access to our retail expertise. This distribution centre also provides wholesale products to traditional Indian retailers, kirana stores, restaurants and other businesses, providing small farmers and other suppliers with a more efficient way to sell their wares to the local market. Group Sales 1. View for free.
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