International Operations
Tesco's international expansion strategy has responded to the need to be sensitive to local expectations in other countries by entering into joint ventures with local partners, such as Samsung Group in South Korea (Samsung-Tesco Home plus), and Charoen Pokphand in Thailand (Tesco Lotus), appointing a very high proportion of local personnel to management positions. It also makes small acquisitions as part of its strategy for example, in its 2005/2006 financial year it made acquisitions in South Korea, one in Poland and one in Japan.
In late 2004 the amount of floorspace Tesco operated outside the United Kingdom surpassed the amount it had in its home market for the first time, although the United Kingdom still accounted for more than 75% of group revenue due to lower sales per unit area outside the UK.
In September 2005 Tesco announced that it was selling its operations in Taiwan to Carrefour and purchasing Carrefour's stores in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Both companies stated that they were concentrating their efforts in countries where they had strong market positions.
The following table shows the number of stores, total store size in area and sales for Tesco's international operations. The store numbers and floor area figures are as at 18 April 2012. This information is taken from the 2011/12 Preliminary Results analyst pack PDF (92 KB).
| Country | Entered | Stores | Area (m² (sq ft)) | Mean store area (m² (sq ft)) | +/- Stores 2011/12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 2004 | 124 | 893,913 (9,622,000) | 7,209 (77,476) | 19 |
| Czech Republic | 1996 | 322 | 538,559 (5,797,000) | 1,673 (18,003) | 61 |
| Hungary | 1994 | 213 | 678,285 (7,301,000) | 3,202 (34,439) | 7 |
| Republic of Ireland | 1997 | 137 | 319,586 (3,440,000) | 2,333 (25,109) | 7 |
| Japan | 2003 | 121 | 36,790 (396,000) | 304 (3,273) | 19 |
| Malaysia | 2002 | 45 | 350,988 (3,778,000) | 7,800 (83,956) | 7 |
| Poland | 1995 | 412 | 827,394 (8,906,000) | 2,008 (21,617) | 41 |
| Slovakia | 1996 | 120 | 336,959 (3,627,000) | 2,808 (30,225) | 23 |
| South Korea | 1999 | 458 | 1,166,026 (12,551,000) | 2,546 (27,404) | 59 |
| Thailand | 1998 | 1,092 | 1,192,039 (12,831,000) | 1,092 (11,750) | 310 |
| Turkey | 2003 | 148 | 337,052 (3,628,000) | 2,277 (24,514) | 27 |
| United Kingdom (for comparison) | 1919 | 2,975 | 3,585,314 (38,592,000) | 1,205 (12,972) | 260 |
| United States | 2007 | 185 | 173,279 (1,870,000) | 937 (10,108) | 21 |
| Total (not including UK) | 3,376 | 6,851,321 (73,747,000) | Mean: 2,029 (21,844) | 563 | |
| Total (including UK) | 6,351 | 10,436,635 (112,339,000) | Mean: 1,643 (17,688) | 823 |
Read more about this topic: One Stop
Famous quotes containing the word operations:
“It may seem strange that any road through such a wilderness should be passable, even in winter, when the snow is three or four feet deep, but at that season, wherever lumbering operations are actively carried on, teams are continually passing on the single track, and it becomes as smooth almost as a railway.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)