Chief executive of Tesco Terry Leahy had only been in the job a year in April 1998, but that was the point he saw 'primary' Tesco shoppers spending 80% of their grocery shopping budget with Tesco [AGB Retailer Track].
Tesco overtook Sainsbury's in 1995, shortly after bringing in the Tesco Clubcard, which allowed it unparalleled access to information on shoppers' buying habits. Since 1998 Tesco has built on its strengths: range, coverage, availability, value for money and the ever-growing non-food contingent. The first Tesco Extra superstore opened in 1997, and the alliance forged with Esso that year also has done nothing to harm the multi's near-omnipresence in the market.
Tesco has since diversified into areas including clothes, electronics, financial services, DVDs, CDs, downloads, telecommunications, health insurance and even estate agency. Last year it launched into the US with its Fresh&Easy supermarket chain. In 2007 the group announced profits of £2.55bn.
Has the number of customer complaints about the price of goods increased recently?
