Tesco is one of the worlds leading international retailers. Since the company first the trading name of Tesco, in the mid 1920s, the group has expanded into different formats, different markets and different sectors. The UKs leading retailer Tesco was floated on the stock exchange in 1947 and in 1995 took over rival Sainsburys position as the UK number one. The principal activity of the group is food retailing, with over 2,000 stores worldwide. Tesco has a long term strategy for growth, based on four key parts: growth in the Core UK business, to expand by growing internationally, to be as strong in non-food as in food and to follow customers into new retailing services. The company launched a home shopping service in 2000, allowing customers to order their shopping online. Tesco is now expanding its convenience stores and overseas into areas such as Taiwan, Malaysia, Poland, the US and Ireland.

Upper graph = 12 month share price with 6 month moving average
Lower graph = 12 month volume (red line = volume average).

We have used Sainsbury's online shop on 4 occasions and found it very good, however we were very selective in what we bought, no fruit and veg or bread and bakery items etc. Very pleased we haven't used it recently.
2517

Cynic by name..... However, I suspect the opposite is True: namely the supermarkets would offload unripe stock, ( to satisfy the Order), but mainly so the fruit (for example) ripens when it's arrived a few days later.

Any suppliers sending out bad fruit ( as in this example), would get it back PDQ and their Name would be off the watch-list....

Now, the issue may be that supermarkets are not specifically Buying for On-Line Sales - but they should . . . . and maybe that means having suitable stock/packages to the Consumer is satisfied.

It may be that some items just don't satisfy the On-Line distribution model - So, you either change the Model, -or- limit their sales volume by price. So easy-shifters are competitively priced and the others less-so.

Former Tesco boss Philip Clarke reduces his stake in the struggling supermarket group



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/news/article-2888247/Former-Tesco-boss-Philip-Clarke-reduces-stake-struggling-supermarket-group.html

Will Tesco bite the bullet and launch £3bn rights issue?

Dave’s to-do list

+ Arrest the slide in sales in the UK

+ Which means being more price competitive

+ Fix Tesco’s relationship with its suppliers

+ Maintain investment-grade rating of debt

+ This may mean the sale of businesses

+ Or a £3bn rights issue


http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/75753/will-tesco-bite-the-bullet-and-launch-3bn-rights-issue-75753.html

and how will they plug the massive black hole in their pension fund?

And, and, and ? And all the time the competitors are pulling away. Looks like the pension fund deficit will have to be addressed in the future years, if Tesco makes any turn round progress. One thing for sure is the future Tesco is not going to be anything like the Tesco today. Still a very tall order .

exactly so ..... worth shorting perhaps

In the short time perhaps. The city are going to be looking for signs that the business is being steered in the right direction, when Tesco announces its plans. SP may yoyo.
Looks like it has further to fall. Clarke and Leahy dumping a large proportion of their holdings perhaps tells enough. Interesting to see weather Tesco will drip feed the market or come right out with its plans.

Problem is the crowd, too obvious. The market being the market will expect shorts to pile in. The algos may have different ideas or am I just becoming a wee bit cynical?

The accounts also need looking into. As said before there is to much left off the balance sheet. I have written before about the loans (bonds) in billions on the property side, made to pay the hefty dividends in the past. Good to see a true up to date value on Tesco property assets. As there are calls this is way over stated. One good thing to say is, as store building has all but ceased, there is a huge land bank that can be sold off. All going to take time.

Your right Chris.

Sharecast - Tesco is testing a discount format in its One Stop chain, indicating the group could be considering new ways to combat Aldi and Lidl, the Sunday Times said. Three One Stop branches have been trading as discounters with low prices and limited ranges for the past seven weeks. The trial is the idea of One Stop's boss Tony Reed and is not monitored by Tesco's board.

I certainly would not buy and lease back their stores , praying they are going to be able to lease for the 25yr period etc. Tesco do not even know their destination. They are to late in post 1332.

Tesco launches fresh discounting drive to combat rise of Lidl and Aldi as share of the market falls to 29% this year and accounting scandal takes its toll



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/markets/article-2889231/Tesco-launches-fresh-discounting-drive-combat-rise-Lidl-Aldi-share-market-falls-29-year-accounting-scandal-takes-toll.html

Trading statement 08 Jan 15 Tesco PLC [TSCO]

Tesco may have to find £300m a year to plug pensions hole

Retailer facing prospect of having to inject extra cash into employees’ retirement fund every year for next decade

The retailer has sought to correct the funding problems and in its 2013 financial year made an additional injection of £180m, on top of other routine contributions designed to reduce the deficit on the scheme.

The one-off top-up dropped to £4m in 2014. Tesco declined to explain the marked difference between the two figures.



http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/dec/28/tesco-300m-pensions-hole

TalkTalk moves to relieve Tesco of loss-making Blinkbox venture


http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/dec/29/blinkbox-tesco-sale-talktalk-video-streaming-service

My take on what Dave should do or I would if in his seat. :-))

First profit margins must be SLASHED. Tesco are now 6% up on ASDA. In the past there was only a 1% variation. National pricing must be abandoned. Rents in the most expensive areas are up to 6 times the level of the cheapest areas, wages are 20% higher. Despite this, Tesco offers the same product at the same price level. The discounters LOVE it. Many of Tesco's stores are in the wrong areas ie out of town. The old man in the past would not pay out for the no1 first class position and took the second best. Which performed back in the past, but not now with shopping habits changing . Many of Tesco stores (about 50%) are over the 50,000sq ft plus bracket. With shoppers proved now to prefer quick shops . A lot of these larger stores are losing money or could come under pressure with loss of footfall. Crazy to keep loss making stores, going to have to be sold off.
I see they are trying out 3 stores with set ups like Aldi etc. All these are up North and are owned by Tesco but not under the name. Not really a big enough pilot scheme . Could of run the scheme with a lot more stores and South as well.
They have clear problems between the discounters attacking them and the more up market likes of Sainsbury and waitrose. Two different extremes of the market then have to be dealt with. No good Tesco becoming a discounter because the likes of as said Sains etc will carry on nibbling away. Tesco has got to become not a discounter but a great value alternative. Its going to be the cheapest option as the whole set up is wrong to join the discounters. As said before the announcement in the next few days wants to be open and clear to where Tesco can carve out a niche position in the grocery business. Tesco needs also to get its trust back with the public, difficult but possible. Clearly now Tesco are well down the road without achieving much of a turn around under the last exited board members and Dave has got to come up trumps very soon, otherwise he will join them.

Grocery shopping is a peculiar subject to analyse and I don't think you can put your finger on just one thing, like say 'price'.

And it isn't going to be the sole thing which is going to win customers' business.

As I shop sometimes in Waitrose, I just cannot see some of their punters ever wanting to 'lower their obvious snobby standards' and join the ranks of the masses, who shop purely to save money at Aldi. And, at Waitrose, you do get a free cappucino to sip from a paper cup whilst you are doing your shopping.

I do like 'self scanning' and this is now offered at my local Tesco as well as Waitrose.

I also like 'Free Parking'. Other than the Tesco and M&S in the middle of town, they all of them have this.

Overall, my favourite is actually my local big Tesco, where I have noted a happier more caring atmosphere amongst the staff, an upgrade to its 'physicality' and lots of 'buzz'.

When mr average is trying to save for a pension and heat the house and pay bills, I would think price ranks very high on the agenda. The type of class/quality of shoppers here in Bishops Stortford at the Aldi store in town are from working class to very well off. There are many Big Bmw's/Mercs parked in the car park. Even the very well off seem to have principles to being ripped off.