Tesco stores numbers in the United Kingdom (UK) 2021/22, by type
As of the end of the 2021/22 financial year, Tesco operated a total of 1,966 small convenience stores in the United Kingdom, followed by 798 large stores. Tesco’s store count was significantly higher than that of its competitor, Sainsbury’s.
Founded initially as a group of market stalls in Hackney, London, Tesco witnessed one hundred years of impressive growth since its founding in 1919 by Jack Cohen. In 2022, Tesco's revenue in the United Kingdom surpassed the sixty billion British pounds mark. Tesco’s product portfolio expanded beyond edible and non-edible grocery to include books, clothing, home appliances, and financial services. Headquartered in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, the company employed more than 326,000 people in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland in 2022.
In addition to competitive pressures, the onset of the coronavirus pandemic also had an impact on changing the grocery landscape in the UK, with online grocery shopping gaining unprecedented pace since the start of the pandemic. While brick-and-mortar stores remain the dominant channel for grocery shopping in the UK, online channels are expected to become increasingly more important. The market value of online grocery in the UK is forecasted to exceed 34 billion British pounds by 2026.
The leading supermarket chain in the UK
Tesco PLC has dominated the grocery retail landscape in the United Kingdom for some time now. The multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer consistently maintained its position as the leading supermarket chain in the UK and, as of January 2022, it controlled around 28 percent of the grocery retail market in Great Britain.Founded initially as a group of market stalls in Hackney, London, Tesco witnessed one hundred years of impressive growth since its founding in 1919 by Jack Cohen. In 2022, Tesco's revenue in the United Kingdom surpassed the sixty billion British pounds mark. Tesco’s product portfolio expanded beyond edible and non-edible grocery to include books, clothing, home appliances, and financial services. Headquartered in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, the company employed more than 326,000 people in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland in 2022.
The changing grocery landscape in the UK
With a market value of over 200 billion British pounds, the grocery retail market in the United Kingdom has long been dominated by the ‘Big Four’ supermarket chains: Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons. This is changing with the growing popularity of the ‘German discounters’ Aldi and Lidl, that together have a market share of 14 percent in the UK grocery market, already surpassing the market share of Morrisons and inching closer to overtake Asda’s.In addition to competitive pressures, the onset of the coronavirus pandemic also had an impact on changing the grocery landscape in the UK, with online grocery shopping gaining unprecedented pace since the start of the pandemic. While brick-and-mortar stores remain the dominant channel for grocery shopping in the UK, online channels are expected to become increasingly more important. The market value of online grocery in the UK is forecasted to exceed 34 billion British pounds by 2026.
