Tesco versus Sainsbury's Growth Strategies and Corporate Competitiveness 1990-2007

The case compares the growth strategies (from 1990 to 2007) of the two main British grocery businesses: Sainsbury and Tesco. It starts in 1990, when Sainsbury was the clear market leader way ahead of Tesco. Today, this situation has changed dramatically with Tesco not only having overtaken Sainsbury but having reached twice the market share of its competitor which even lost the second position to Asda (a Wal-Mart subsidiary).
This case describes the growth strategies and the concrete growth initiatives undertaken by the two competitors in the time period covered. Tesco provides a good example of how to move from being a small to being a big company. 10-15 years ago, Tesco was pretty much a British grocery business. Today it is an international business providing telephony, financial services, legal services, books, music, and electrical goods. Tesco has many different shop formats including hypermarkets and Express stores and has a successful on-line business.