Jack Cohen founded Tesco in 1919 when he began to sell surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London.
[5] The Tesco brand first appeared in 1924. The name came about after Jack Cohen bought a shipment of
tea from
T.E. Stockwell. He made new labels using the first three letters of the supplier's name (TES), and the first two letters of his surname (CO), forming the word TESCO.
[6] The first Tesco store was opened in 1929 in
Burnt Oak,
Edgware, Middlesex. Tesco was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1947 as
Tesco Stores (Holdings) Limited.
[5] The first self-service store opened in
St Albans in 1951 (still operational in 2009 as a Metro),
[7] and the first supermarket in
Maldon in 1956.
[5]
