Trends in Retail Industry: A Study on Tesco PLC

Inquiry Based
Learning

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Trends in retail industry..........................................................................................................3
Aim of the report....................................................................................................................4
Objectives of the project.........................................................................................................4
Primary investigation:............................................................................................................4
Recommendations..................................................................................................................7
Action Plan.............................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
Books and Journals.................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
This report is based on a specific business organisation that is TESCO Plc. The main aim of
the report is to analyse the financial performance of the company and also it is going to feature
the most important objective of an organisation i.e. the shareholders (Duran and Dökme, 2016) .
The report is going to investigate whether the shareholders are adequately rewarded or not taking
into consideration all the risks and investments.
MAIN BODY
Trends in retail industry
As per the Retail Economics, total value of £394 billion in terms of sales comprises the
whole retail industry of United Kingdom. Also, if we talk about the number of employees
working in the retail industry of United Kingdom it is carrying a number of around 2.9 million.
The proportion of consumer spending that goes into retail sector is one-third, which means that
this sector has a powerful influence on the growing economy of United Kingdom. In 2019 the
industry has done a online sales of approximately 19%. The growth percentage of different
products and services offered by various organisations is 3.4%. Along with this the number of
VAT dealers registered in United Kingdom is around 2,09,000, this is the figure of 2019. And if
let’s discuss about the supermarkets and retail outlets the number is 3,06,650. The total retail
generated is 5% of the total GDP. If the average annual growth of online retail sales in 2019 is
talked about, it is approximately 10%. Last but not the least the company which helped in
increasing the online sales upto 324% was the Big Four Supermarkets and some other well-
known retailers.
Now let’s talk about the challenges faced by retail industry, it is believed that the retailers
were facing many changes which can be said as the trends of retail industry. The primary and the
foremost trend that the industry saw was the shift in consumer’s preference from offline to online
shopping. The nature of spending also changed, the consumer has now become more cautious
which led to uncertainties in the economy. This also led to concerns for business environment.
Brexit was another major challenge faced by the retail industry, where the United Kingdom
faced no-deal Brexit that too twice. This impacted the demand of various goods and services
during the festive season. This situation could be termed as the situation of political instability.

Also, it is mentioned that 2019 was the worst year in records for the British retail industry
because the sales in this period fall for the very first time in last 24 years. The current market
trends prevailing in the international market are summed up below:
Prioritising experiences over shelf space: Now-a-days most of the business organisations
are using the latest technologies including the artificial intelligence. This is basically done to
attract the customers towards them because customers are now becoming technology friendly
and are always connected to the internet which makes their lives easier.
Taking online brands offline in creative ways: Many business organisations that were already
dealing in the online marketing of their products are now ready to open their physical stores in
different parts of the country or in the areas where their business has already been expanded. By
doing so the businesses are trying to build a faith amongst its customers that what is being shown
to the customers online is as same available at the offline stores as well.
Analysis of the organisation
TESCO PLC, one of the famous and well known British multinational groceries and
general retailer and also it is one of the largest organisations dealing in this line of business.
TESCO offers its customers with high quality products and services at reasonable prices. This
organisation was founded in the year 1919 by Jack Cohen. Its headquarter is situated at
Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom. TESCO is the third largest retailer when measured in
terms of gross revenues. But when measured in the terms of revenues it acquires ninth position
all over the globe.
Aim of the report
A study on TESCO PLC, analysing the financial and business performance of the
company.
Objectives of the project
To analyse whether the shareholders of TESCO are being rewarded adequately for their
risks and investments done in the organisation.
Primary investigation:
The primary information was collected from various stakeholders of TESCO.
Information was gathered from 50 respondents. With the information collected it was interpreted
that no major changes are required to be done in the organisation but if some of the changes are