Tesco group stores by type 2023/24

As of the end of the 2023/24 financial year, Tesco operated a total of 2,048 small convenience stores in the United Kingdom, followed by 809 large stores. Tesco’s store count was significantly higher than that of its competitor, Sainsbury’s.

The leading supermarket chain in the UK

Tesco PLC has dominated the grocery retail landscape in the United Kingdom for some time now. The multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer consistently maintained its position as the leading supermarket chain in the UK and, as of April 2024, it controlled around 27.4 percent of the grocery retail market in Great Britain.
Founded initially as a group of market stalls in Hackney, London, Tesco witnessed one hundred years of impressive growth since its founding in 1919 by Jack Cohen. In 2024, Tesco's revenue in the United Kingdom surpassed the 62 billion British pounds mark. Tesco’s product portfolio expands beyond edible and non-edible grocery to include books, clothing, home appliances, and financial services. Headquartered in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, the company employed more than 311,000 people in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland in 2024.

The changing grocery landscape in the UK

With a market value of over 216 billion British pounds, the grocery retail market in the United Kingdom has long been dominated by the ‘Big Four’ supermarket chains: Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons. This is changing with the growing popularity of the ‘German discounters’ Aldi and Lidl. In September 2022, Aldi took over fourth place in the supermarket chain ranking for the first time, pushing Morrisons into fifth place.
In addition to competitive pressures, the onset of the coronavirus pandemic also had an impact on changing the grocery landscape in the UK, with online grocery shopping gaining unprecedented pace since the start of the pandemic. While brick-and-mortar stores remain the dominant channel for grocery shopping in the UK, online channels are expected to become increasingly more important. The market value of online grocery in the UK is forecasted to exceed 26 billion British pounds by 2027.