Tesco was founded by Jack Cohen in Hackney in 1919.
After serving in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, Cohen began selling war-surplus groceries from a market stall at Well Street Market in Hackney, in London’s East End. He used money from his military demobilization to start the venture, building a business around the idea of buying cheaply and selling at accessible prices.
The Tesco name appeared in 1924. Cohen formed it from “TES,” taken from tea supplier T. E. Stockwell, and “CO,” the first two letters of his surname. The first Tesco shop opened in 1931 at Burnt Oak, Edgware, after Cohen experimented with permanent indoor market stalls.
The retailer later became a major supermarket operator, but it did not begin as a full-sized supermarket chain. Its first self-service shop opened in St Albans in 1948, while its first supermarket opened in Maldon in 1956. Sainsbury’s and Morrisons are also British grocery retailers, but neither matches this founding story.