The current logo, in use since 1997
|
|
Formerly called
|
Quinnsworth Crazy Prices |
---|---|
Subsidiary, Limited company | |
Industry | Retailing |
Predecessor | Powers' Supermarkets Ltd |
Founded | 6 May 1997 |
Founder | Pat Quinn |
Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland |
Number of locations
|
142 shops |
Area served
|
Republic of Ireland |
Key people
|
Andrew Yaxley (Chief Executive Officer) Tony Keohane (Chairman) |
Products | Grocery, clothing, electrical, homewares |
Revenue | € 2.766 billion (2012-2013) |
Number of employees
|
15,200 (2014) |
Parent | Tesco plc |
Website | tesco |
Tesco Ireland is the Irish arm of supermarket group Tesco and controlled 28% of the grocery market as recently as 2012.Tesco Ireland was formed by the Tesco plc 1997 takeover of the Irish retailing operations of Associated British Foods, namely Powers' Supermarkets Limited and its subsidiaries, trading as "Quinnsworth" and "Crazy Prices". There are 148 Tesco stores in operation in Ireland.
Tesco operates full-sized supermarkets under the main "Tesco" brand, smaller urban stores under the "Tesco Metro" banner, hypermarkets as "Tesco Extra" and a small number of convenience stores as "Tesco Express". Several petrol stations are also operated by the company, as well as an internet shopping service, Tesco.ie. In 2007 the company launched its mobile telephone service, "Tesco Mobile". Tesco Ireland operated a number of 24-hour stores but have abandoned 24-hour opening as of 2014 with all stores closed from 12 midnight to 6 am.
The Irish Times commented in April 2011 that "Increasingly, Ireland is being viewed as a provincial backwater by the parent company – albeit a very profitable little backwater – and all the strategic decisions are being taken in the UK.
Tesco's profit margins in the Republic are the company's highest in the world according to retail industry analysts in London, who have a detailed knowledge of Tesco's worldwide operations. Tesco's Irish profit margin, was 9.3 per cent in 2008 and is projected to rise to 9.5 per cent by the end of 2009. This makes the Irish operation Tesco's most successful worldwide in margin terms. Tesco's Irish profit margin is all the more remarkable given that the company sells a much larger volume of higher margin non-food items at its UK stores.
The company was founded as "Quinnsworth" by Pat Quinn in 1966, and was later sold to Power Supermarkets. During the 1970s the slogan used was "Let's get it all together at Quinnsworth". Power Supermarkets Ltd. became the parent company but used Quinnsworth as its marketing name. The company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Associated British Foods plc.
Quinnsworth is remembered for their choice of store sites, their most memorable act was the addition of the phrase Yellow Pack to the retailing lexicon. Towards the end of Quinnsworth's life, Yellow Pack was replaced by K.V.I. label as the low-cost generic grocery brand, and a high quality generic line called Premium Choice modeled after Loblaws President's Choice (Loblaws being owned by another branch of the Weston family). Quinnsworth was also remembered for its advertising campaigns featuring its marketing director (and later chief executive) Maurice Pratt, who would personally introduce new product promotions, ending each advert with the company slogan, "That's Real Value".