Tesco tops the till takers!

Tesco is now the unstoppable king of the retailers. There is no other like it in the UK. Fast becoming a one-stop shop (they actually own One Stop convenience stores!), they are keen for you to buy all your daily/weekly shopping with them. Some complain that Tesco is now too big, but a large part of that "bigness" is us going to shop with them. There seems to be a new split-personality complex infecting shoppers. It is well known in politicians and corporate types. Now the purchasing public is getting a dose.

When Woolworths went bust the TV news channels were full of people saying how sad they were, what a terrible blow it all was to the high streets of Britain. But when asked when they last shopped at Woolworths, their memories needed shock therapy. We can be terribly hypocritcal about what we want and don't want.

Tesco can't be blamed for running a succesful business and it shouldn't be. We do have choice and there are plenty of stores offering it. I certainly do not buy everything at one place. I go to Tesco, but I do not go solely to them. For instance, I find it far more agreeable to buy milk at an Asian store where it is almost half the supermarket price! I tell myself I'd be a fool not to.

One thing about supermarkets is the complexity of the "offer" as it is now known. Prices are not going to be the lowest all over in Tesco otherwise the profit margins would be compromised. However, pricing is very up and down, changing on a weekly basis. Customers require mental arithmetic and visual dexterity of a high degree. It was all very different when Jack Cohen, Tesco's founder, started out. I well remember him appearing in a TV programme about supermarkets. Ever the showman-meets-market-trader, he proudly explained his marketing techniques. He came to the end of an aisle, explained to the reporter, "See here, I've got Heinz salad cream in a basket. It's all put in like it's going cheap. Just put in. People think it's a bargain, cos it's not stacked or anything. Then I put some more on the shelves further down, all neat and tidy. Both at the same price, mind. And you know what? The "bargain" ones go first!"

With a founder like Jack Cohen, Tesco was bound to succeed. He knew there were enough of "us" to prove him right!