Tesco
/ˈteskəʊ/
/ˈteskəʊ/
(also Tesco's)
- one of Britain's largest chains of supermarkets. It was started by Jack Cohen (1898-1979), a Jewish immigrant who started selling tea in a market in the East End of London just after the First World War. The name Tesco was used first in 1924 on a brand of tea sold by Cohen; it consisted of the first letters of T E Stockwell, who was a partner in a firm that supplied the tea, and the first two letters of Cohen's own name. In 1929 Cohen opened a food shop in London, and by the beginning of the Second World War there were many more Tesco shops in or near London. In the 1970s, Tesco superstores began to appear and there are now thousands of shops across Britain, in or just outside most towns and cities. The largest ones sell not only food but also clothes and household goods, as well as providing other services. In 1997 Tesco started its own bank, and in 2003 it began offering mobile phone services. It also has stores in many countries across the world.
- I buy most of my food at Tesco.
- There's a new Tesco's opening near us.
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Tesco