Tesco pulls out off six year attempt to crack US Market

CruelCoin · 11-09-2013 02:06AM

WilyCoyote wrote: »

Obviously not a farmer then!

Those poor subsidised little lambs!

K-9 · 11-09-2013 02:09AM

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 · 11-09-2013 02:20AM

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 · 11-09-2013 02:24AM

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 · 11-09-2013 02:42AM

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 · 11-09-2013 02:47AM

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 · 11-09-2013 03:42AM

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 · 11-09-2013 04:06AM

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 · 11-09-2013 04:12AM

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 · 11-09-2013 04:34AM

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 · 11-09-2013 06:01AM

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 · 11-09-2013 06:09AM

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 · 11-09-2013 06:20AM

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 · 11-09-2013 08:23AM

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 · 11-09-2013 09:12AM

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.

Tesco pulls out off six year attempt to crack US Market

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