Tesco pulls out off six year attempt to crack US Market

MadsL

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/10/us-tesco-us-idUSBRE9890U420130910

Tesco finally admits defeat. Another UK grocery retailer fails in the US. Why do the Irish persist in tolerating Tesco and it's greedy margins and poor treatment of suppliers/farmers?

Wacker The Attacker

Do you think shoppers gives a hairy rats ass about Tesco's margins?

Iwasfrozen

MadsL wrote: »

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/10/us-tesco-us-idUSBRE9890U420130910

Tesco finally admits defeat. Another UK grocery retailer fails in the US. Why do the Irish persist in tolerating Tesco and it's greedy margins and poor treatment of suppliers/farmers?

That's capitalism.

Dynamo Roller

I wonder will Walmart try their luck over here.

EDIT: Turns out Walmart own Asda, so they're already in the UK

vicwatson

Old news

LeinsterDub

MadsL wrote: »

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/10/us-tesco-us-idUSBRE9890U420130910

Tesco finally admits defeat. Another UK grocery retailer fails in the US. Why do the Irish persist in tolerating Tesco and it's greedy margins and poor treatment of suppliers/farmers?

Yeah a real victory for the ma and pa stores like Walmart, k mart and others

MadsL

vicwatson wrote: »

Old news

Well they announced it April, but they just sold the stores today.

Tox56

MadsL wrote: »

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/10/us-tesco-us-idUSBRE9890U420130910

Tesco finally admits defeat. Another UK grocery retailer fails in the US. Why do the Irish persist in tolerating Tesco and it's greedy margins and poor treatment of suppliers/farmers?

Are you trying to suggest Tesco didn't crack the US because Americans didn't tolerate greedy margins and poor treatment of suppliers/farmers or are those two completely different points ?

vicwatson

MadsL wrote: »

Well they announced it April, but they just sold the stores today.

Was on the cards and therefore old news

MadsL

Wacker The Attacker wrote: »

Do you think shoppers gives a hairy rats ass about Tesco's margins?

When you consider that Tesco made 2.5 billion quid profit in UK and Ireland and yet cannot make money from 185 stores in the US it tells you a lot about their margins.

Average net profit margins in the US are are close to 1 percent. Tesco net margins are closer to 3 - 6%

Seaneh

MadsL wrote: »

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/10/us-tesco-us-idUSBRE9890U420130910

Why do the Irish persist in tolerating Tesco and it's greedy margins and poor treatment of suppliers/farmers?

That's not really why Tesco didn't work in the US though, is it?
Seeing as Walmart, KMart, Kroger, etc, etc, etc all do the same and are doing pretty well...

paddy147

MadsL wrote: »

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/10/us-tesco-us-idUSBRE9890U420130910

Tesco finally admits defeat. Another UK grocery retailer fails in the US. Why do the Irish persist in tolerating Tesco and it's greedy margins and poor treatment of suppliers/farmers?

Tesco have also stopped a fair few 24 hour stores from being 24 hour stores in Ireland.

Artane Castle now only opens at 8am in the morning and closes at 12 midnight.

Id say that Lidl opening up accross the road from them has really fcuked them up too.:pac::D

MadsL

Tox56 wrote: »

Are you trying to suggest Tesco didn't crack the US because Americans didn't tolerate greedy margins and poor treatment of suppliers/farmers or are those two completely different points ?

I'd say they got pretty comfortable operating 3% or higher and that the US market told them to **** off with that level...I'm surprised Ireland tolerates it rather than going back to domestic sellers. Perhaps the likes of Superquinn wanted in too.

No-one should be paying a 3% margin on milk to the retailer.

MadsL

Seaneh wrote: »

That's not really why Tesco didn't work in the US though, is it?
Seeing as Walmart, KMart, Kroger, etc, etc, etc all do the same and are doing pretty well...

Why do you suppose Tesco failed?

Legs.Eleven

MadsL wrote: »

Why do you suppose Tesco failed?

They couldn't offer anything new to the existing market? Brand loyalty maybe?

Seaneh

MadsL wrote: »

Why do you suppose Tesco failed?

Because they had a bad strategy? Brand recognition? The market is pretty much dominated by Walmart in every state, there are smaller chains like Korger and the likes but they don't come near competing with Walmart in reality. Even Kmart have struggled in recent years and they were huge.

Could tesco have worked, maybe, with different people in charge, different marketing and business strategy, who knows, but their failing had nothing to do with their margains of treatment of suppliers, because if it did, then why are Walmart et al thriving?

mikemac1

paddy147 wrote: »

Artane Castle now only opens at 8am in the morning and closes at 12 midnight.

Id say that Lidl opening up accross the road from them has really fcuked them up too.:pac::D

Ah the 24 opening in Artaine Castle was handy.

The nightpack staff are around all night. Sure it wouldn't cost much to open a till and stick a security guard on the door

The staff are in there and the lights are on

cloudatlas

These are the people who invented cheese that sprays out of a can, what do you expect? Tesco's choice of junk food is too bland for the American market.

MadsL

cloudatlas wrote: »

These are the people who invented cheese that sprays out of a can, what do you expect? Tesco's choice of junk food is too bland for the American market.

Care to trade beer aisles?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR3sR8e705s

Amirani

The tried break the Chinese market in the past few years and that failed just as spectacularly.

DubDani

These days it's very difficult to branch out supermarkets to different countries, as they are not flexible enough to adapt to local needs. Aldi (they are expanding in the US) and possible Lidl are two Retailers that seem to get a decent foothold in several countries, probably partly due to the fact that Germans can be found almost everywhere.

Wal Mart tried to get a foot into Germany a few years back, but lost a fortune trying to do so. They sold up quite quickly and left.

Same around the world in other countries, where foreign retailers tried hard, but failed miserably in the end.

paddy147

mikemac1 wrote: »

Ah the 24 opening in Artaine Castle was handy.

The nightpack staff are around all night. Sure it wouldn't cost much to open a till and stick a security guard on the door

The staff are in there and the lights are on

Have you seen the "night staff" doing the frozen food isles in Tesco Clarehall....(still 24h Tesco)

Boxes of frozen meat and pizzas left out on the isles in the warm for hours,before they are even taken out of the boxes and placed into the large chest freezers and freezer cabinets.

Saw boxes of Goodfellas pizzas more or less gone to mush and left out on the isle....and still to be packed away into freezer cabinets.

Surely that can be good for food health and safety???:eek:

Elbaston

One would rather prefer the chaps of Tesco.....dare I say, as a Paddy....over the people of Walmart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glMdlVmFL9I

Oh do stay classy America.

MadsL

Elbaston wrote: »

Oh do stay classy America.

You want to play that snobby game? Oh OK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cxNNzdp8eU

Stay classy Dublin.

JONJO THE MISER

paddy147 wrote: »

Have you seen the "night staff" doing the frozen food isles in Tesco Clarehall....(still 24h Tesco)

Boxes of frozen meat and pizzas left out on the isles in the warm for hours,before they are even taken out of the boxes and placed into the large chest freezers and freezer cabinets.

Saw boxes of Goodfellas pizzas more or less gone to mush and left out on the isle....and still to be packed away into freezer cabinets.

Surely that can be good for food health and safety???:eek:

:mad:The health inspector should be informed of this so they can do spot checks.

MadsL

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

:mad:The health inspector should be informed of this so they can do spot checks.

Don't they go home at 4.59pm?

paddy147

Elbaston wrote: »

One would rather prefer the chaps of Tesco.....dare I say, as a Paddy....over the people of Walmart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glMdlVmFL9I

Oh do stay classy America.

26 seconds.......For The Win...:D:D


Hope to god that is a woman,or else Im gonna be left a tad red faced and emabarrassed...:pac::o









The little kid being dargged along by the granny in her mobility scooter is funny aswell.:pac::D

Elbaston

MadsL wrote: »

You want to play that snobby game? Oh OK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cxNNzdp8eU

Stay classy Dublin.

Class, or lack of, knows no boundaries, fair enough.
However, theres something wrong in a culture when a man can get trampled to death by a mob in a shopping centre, by sales zombies.

http://www.ranker.com/list/13-most-brutal-black-friday-injuries-and-deaths/john-barryman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc7Uqm2df2E

If walmart never makes it here I wont cry for lack of walmartians.

paddy147

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

:mad:The health inspector should be informed of this so they can do spot checks.

I said it to the store night manager last week,and he looked at me like I had 2 heads on my shoulder.

Customer points out mushy frozen food left on isles to sore manager,and store manager looks past blankly into space....:rolleyes::(

Zillah

I'd imagine they failed at least partially because they couldn't manage the level of union-busting, employee-destroying, sociopathic profiteering that the likes of Walmart engage in everyday. Capitalism in the US is a person-eating nightmare, Tesco are delightful little angels by comparison.

WilyCoyote

Zillah wrote: »

I'd imagine they failed at least partially because they couldn't manage the level of union-busting, employee-destroying, sociopathic profiteering that the likes of Walmart engage in everyday. Capitalism in the US is a person-eating nightmare, Tesco are delightful little angels by comparison.

Obviously not a farmer then!

CruelCoin

WilyCoyote wrote: »

Obviously not a farmer then!

Those poor subsidised little lambs!

K-9

Zillah wrote: »

I'd imagine they failed at least partially because they couldn't manage the level of union-busting, employee-destroying, sociopathic profiteering that the likes of Walmart engage in everyday. Capitalism in the US is a person-eating nightmare, Tesco are delightful little angels by comparison.

Don't be saying anything anti-US on a thread set up to mock the Irish! Tesco market share has dropped here too, but we wont let facts get in the way of it.

WilyCoyote

Remember when Dunnes, Superquinn and Quinnsworth had the market carved up and the margin was 12%? Things have got a little more aggressive in the retail field. Aldi are making slight inroads here but obviously Tesco couldn't hack it.
Someone mentioned Wal-Mart in the UK. AFAIK, they bought out Asda about ten years ago. But because of higher margins they don't have to have the cut-throat dynamics that operate here.

MadsL

K-9 wrote: »

Don't be saying anything anti-US on a thread set up to mock the Irish! Tesco market share has dropped here too, but we wont let facts get in the way of it.

I didn't set this thread up to mock the Irish, mock Tesco if anything. I set the thread up to ask why Tesco are tolerated...puzzled where you got that from

If you search Tesco and my username you might see why. I've had some right ding dongs with them and the Office of Consumer Affairs.

K-9

MadsL wrote: »

I didn't set this thread up to mock the Irish, mock Tesco if anything. I set the thread up to ask why Tesco are tolerated...puzzled where you got that from

If you search Tesco and my username you might see why. I've had some right ding dongs with them and the Office of Consumer Affairs.

Because I don't have a clue what the issue is, the 2 cases aren't comparable. Tesco took over Quinnsworth, the second biggest supermarket here at the time, the overall market here is largely high margin so we'd need to turf Dunnes and Super Valu out too.

Cookie_Monster

MadsL wrote: »

Average net profit margins in the US are are close to 1 percent. Tesco net margins are closer to 3 - 6%

they're closer to that alright but still above. Tesco Ireland made around 10% back in 05-08 (not privy to the info any more), second only to Tesco Korea in terms of profitability.

Their US operation was aimed at the "healthier foods" end of the market, far more fresh and premade salads etc which is why it never quite did as well as store that sell cheap ****e.

MadsL

K-9 wrote: »

Because I don't have a clue what the issue is, the 2 cases aren't comparable. Tesco took over Quinnsworth, the second biggest supermarket here at the time, the overall market here is largely high margin so we'd need to turf Dunnes and Super Valu out too.

Well I think it is pretty clear Tesco have been shafting the Irish market for many a year, and won't even break down by how much by separating UK and Irish figures.

anto9

NiallSparky wrote: »

The tried break the Chinese market in the past few years and that failed just as spectacularly.

Well they are doing very well here in Thailand ,a country with close to 70 million people .They are in partnership and called Tesco/Lotus ,and have several branches in most towns ,and several hundred branches in Bangkok .

anto9

Some facts about Tesco .It is the second largest retailer in the World after Walmart ,based on profits .They have a staggeing half a million employees around the World .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesco

clairefontaine

More competition in the US with better and cheaper produce. Ireland has all those little towns with nothing but a tiny super value. My local supermarkets spice aisle is bigger than some of the Supervalues. And with that, there are three other major supermarkets to shop from, as well as the usual Target, Walmart, etc.

So Tesco can get away with it over there.

Cookie_Monster

clairefontaine wrote: »

More competition in the US with better and cheaper produce. Ireland has all those little towns with nothing but a tiny super value. My local supermarkets spice aisle is bigger than some of the Supervalues. And with that, there are three other major supermarkets to shop from, as well as the usual Target, Walmart, etc.

So Tesco can get away with it over there.

nothing to do with that. Tesco US is nothing like Tesco UK or Irl. It's almost a niche healthfood retailer rather than a general grocery supermarket. It failed not because of better produce elsewhere but because it was too niche a sector to survive against US attitudes to food and health, even in California.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_%26_Easy
http://www.freshandeasy.com/our-food/

MadsL

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

nothing to do with that. Tesco US is nothing like Tesco UK or Irl. It's almost a niche healthfood retailer rather than a general grocery supermarket. It failed not because of better produce elsewhere but because it was too niche a sector to survive against US attitudes to food and health, even in California.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_%26_Easy
http://www.freshandeasy.com/our-food/

But Whole Foods - a total monster of a brand and niche and expensive is expanding like crazy...

K-9

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

nothing to do with that. Tesco US is nothing like Tesco UK or Irl. It's almost a niche healthfood retailer rather than a general grocery supermarket. It failed not because of better produce elsewhere but because it was too niche a sector to survive against US attitudes to food and health, even in California.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_%26_Easy
http://www.freshandeasy.com/our-food/

Good article on how they messed up a good few things, one being California and picking "food desert" areas, which got badly effected by the recession:

Tale of Two Supermarkets: Why Fresh & Easy Flopped and Fairway Flies High | TIME.com

It seemed to be a brand that didn't know what it was doing, promising one thing, but not delivering on it. If you're picking areas like that you need to be a one stop shop, it wasn't, small size didn't help. Price didn't seem to be a major issue surprisingly enough, everything else seemed to be.

On a sidenote, good to see the backlash against automated checkouts!

Rasheed

Elbaston wrote: »

http://www.ranker.com/list/13-most-brutal-black-friday-injuries-and-deaths/john-barryman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc7Uqm2df2E

If walmart never makes it here I wont cry for lack of walmartians.

I'd worry for the sanity of those people. Talk about vultures to a carcass.

ThisRegard

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Their US operation was aimed at the "healthier foods" end of the market, far more fresh and premade salads etc which is why it never quite did as well as store that sell cheap ****e.

It was always going to be difficult to operate such a model in the US, when I lived there I couldn't even find a decent cereal like Weetabix in the local large supermarkets, the cereal aisles seemed to be stocked with nothing but row after row of brightly packaged boxes of sugar. I eventually found it in the health foods stores, and this was California, supposedly one of the healthiest states.