Our history

1919 - Jack Cohen founded Tesco, when he began to sell surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London. His first day’s profit was £1 and sales £4

1924 - The first own-brand product sold by Jack was Tesco Tea – before the company was called Tesco. The name comes from the initials of TE Stockwell, who was a partner in the firm of tea suppliers, and CO from Jack’s surname

1929 - Jack Cohen opens his first Tesco store in Burnt Oak, Edgware, North London

1932- Tesco Stores Limited became a private limited company

1934 - Jack Cohen bought a plot of land at Angel Road, Edmonton, North London to build a new headquarters and warehouse. It was the first modern food warehouse in the country and introduced new ideas for central stock control

1947 - Tesco Stores (Holdings) Ltd floats on the Stock Exchange with a share price of 25p

1956 - The first Tesco self-service supermarket opens in a converted cinema in Maldon

1960 - Tesco takes over a chain of 212 stores in the North of England and adds another 144 stores in 1964 and 1965

1961 - Tesco Leicester enters the Guinness Book of Records as the largest store in Europe

1963 - Green shield stamps introduced

1968 - The term 'superstore' is used when Tesco opens its store in Crawley, West Sussex

1974 - Tesco opens its first petrol stations at major sites

1977 - Tesco introduces a price–cutting campaign under the banner 'Checkout at Tesco'

1979 - Annual sales reach £1 billion

1982 - Annual sales exceed £2 billion. Computerised checkouts introduced into the first Tesco stores

1983 - Tesco Stores (Holdings) Ltd becomes Tesco PLC

1985 - Tesco becomes the first major retailer to emphasise the nutritional value of its own-brand, to customers, through the 'Healthy Eating' initiative

1987 - Tesco announces a £500 million programme to build another 29 stores

1991 - Tesco becomes Britain's biggest independent petrol retailer

1992 - Tesco launches its Organic range. Computers for Schools is launched. The first Tesco Metro store. opens at Covent Garden, London 'Every Little Helps' is launched

1993 - Tesco Value is launched

1994 - The first Tesco Express opens. Tesco becomes the first retailer to offer customers a service commitment at the checkouts through ‘One in Front’

1995 - ‘Would I Buy It’ initiative is launched to ensure that products are always of the highest quality for customers. Tesco becomes the market-leading food retailer. Tesco enters Hungary. Tesco Clubcard is launched

1996 - Tesco launches 24 hour trading. First major price investment for customers. Belfast Metro opens the first Tesco store in Northern Ireland. Tesco enters Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Tesco introduces ‘Customer Assistants’ to make shopping even easier for customers

1997 - Tesco opens its first Extra store in Pitsea, Essex. Launch of Clubcard point per pound. Tesco enters the Republic of Ireland. Tesco Personal Finance (TPF) is launched. Terry Leahy becomes Chief Executive of Tesco

1998 - Tesco enters Taiwan and Thailand. Tesco launches its Finest range

2000 - Tesco.com is launched

2001 - Tesco launches 'Customer Champions' in many stores and implements a new labour scheduler to further improve service for customers. Tesco becomes the leading organic retailer in the UK. Tesco reaches £1 billion price cuts in total

2002 - Tesco enters Malaysia. Tesco offers ‘Free-From’ products, designed for customers with special dietary needs

2003 - Tesco enters Turkey. Tesco enters Japan

2004 - Tesco enters China. Tesco launches own-brand Fairtrade range. Tesco Broadband is launched. Tesco.com becomes first major British supermarket to enter music download market

2005 - Tesco exits the Taiwanese market in an asset swap deal with Carrefour involving stores and operations in the Czech Republic. Tesco Homeplus launches. Tesco announces annual profits of £2 billion

2006 - Tesco Direct launches

2007 - Tesco opens Fresh & Easy in the United States

2008 - Tesco announces plans to establish cash and carry business in India. Tesco aquires 36 hypermarkets in South Korea from Homever. Discount Brands at Tesco launches. Tesco Personal Finance aquisition completed

2009 - Tesco launches www.tesco.com/clothing. Clubcard re-launched in the UK with £150 million investment offering customers the opportunity to double up their vouchers