Tesco's Strategic Real Estate Management Case Study

Tesco's Strategic Real Estate Management - Case Study Example The futuristic thrust of a company can be assessed by its assets. If the company carries forward its business prospects by accumulating assets on a recurring basis, this indicates towards the fact that the company is not there for short term gains. Policies of such companies, in general, always happen to be friendly to different sets of stakeholders. Acquiring real estate is one good indication towards the strategic focus of the company. Tesco's policies have been to acquire the real estate with an eye on long term perspective. Continuously monitoring the environment and following the leaders has become key to a successful business. Continuously studying the different aspects of environment (social, political, legal, technological etc.) and taking corrective and adaptive steps accordingly helps in growing of an organisation. Tesco started computerised checkout counters as early as 1982 and this stride continued with opening of www.tesco.com and its online operations. Today it is the largest store in UK with presence in many countries around the world. This study is an effort to find out how the management at Tesco has been able to make use of its strengths and adapted to external pulls and pressure while successfully managing the resources at its command. Of all the changes in distribution during the last century, those taking place in retailing have been the most dramatic. Totally new institutions have appeared in an industry that a hundred years ago consisted mostly of small general and specialty stores. Tesco is one such store which had a humble beginning early in the 20th century and today it is one of the leading company in the retail sector. Besides acquiring prime space in the major cities in UK, in the form of its stores, company has been able to take advantage of the opportunities in the overseas market. This study is an effort to figure out how the company is able to synchronise its marketing efforts while investing in real estate as well. The Evolution of Tesco Tesco has been a leading company in the retailing business. With its presence in many parts of the world, the company has been able to take good advantage of the liberalisation policies being adopted by nations around the world. While talking about the policies adopted by the management in order to take growth oriented approach, it is worth discussing how the company was able to effectively manage its assets like the real estate. It was in the year 1919 that Jack Cohen founded Tesco, when he began to sell surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London. His first day's profit1 was 1 and sales 4. 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. It was in year 1929 that Jack Cohen opens his first Tesco store in Burnt Oak, Edgware, North London. And there's no looking back since then. Tesco has a long term plan for growth, based on four key strategies2: i. Growth in the Core UK ii. Making corporate social responsibility an integral part of the business iii. To expand by growing internationally iv. To be as strong in non-food as in food v. To follow the customers into new retailing services The company has been steadily progressing with these strategies over the years and with over 2100 stores in UK and serving 12 markets 12 markets internationally, in Europe, Asia and North America. Over the years, the company has also widened its