Magazine Issue 3 - Spring 1997
What's Wrong With: Tesco?

Damage to Local Business and jobs
These days most small local shops are struggling to survive, as customers are drawn to superstores like Tesco by their aggressive marketing, by their loss-leading promotions and by the impression Tesco gives of convenience. Instead of supporting the local economy, money is sucked away to a distant and inaccessible central office, and the local economy only becomes dependent on forces outside its control (e.g. .supplies, prices and transport links). Over 44,000 food shops closed between 1976 and 1989, mostly small grocers and coops.

Tesco provides only a fraction of the number of jobs provided by the local shops it has driven out of business. While between 1983 and 1995 Tesco more than doubled its share of the food market from 5.9% to 12.2%, the number of people it employed increased by less than 70% from 40,3774 (full-time equivalent) to 68,5525. This is due to the increase in the use of electronic point of sale machines. Computerised stock control etc. Many of these jobs will be lost as check-outs become further automated. Furthermore, the jobs Tesco does offer are c unskilled and low-paid. 44.3% of full -time retail workers receive less than £3.1 0 an hour. Many of Tesco's employers are part-time or on a "flexible contract". Part-time workers working less than 16 -hours per week have no rights to a state pension, Unemployment benefit or sickness benefit and invalidity benefit Meanwhile in 1 993-4, chairman of Tesco plc, Sir Ian MacLaurin, earned £635,000.

Tesco now has over 500 stores in the UK, and controls over 16% of the food market

Increasing Traffic
In the last 10 years, 60-70% of Tesco's superstores have been outside town centres, usually with enormous car parking facilities. This inevitably causes serious increases in traffic and hence air pollution. As the number of such stores grew the distance travelled to shops increased by 60% between 1975 and 1990, and now over three quarters of journeys are by car. Furthermore contrary to popular belief (a belief encouraged by the supermarkets), the average annual number of shopping trips has increased by 25% in the same time period. The other effect of this has been to draw business away from town centres leaving the centres lifeless and unattractive.

Tesco made "numerous deputation's" against the moves by John Cumitler, Secretary of State for the Environment, to limit the growth of out-of-town shops.Where as small independent retailers tend to source a proportion of their goods locally (es-pecially perishables). 95%, ofTesco’s stocks come from centra l warehouses, which are supplied by large-scale producers. Tesco is therefore heavily depemdant on road freight, and is a very prominent member of the Freight Transport Association, which lobbies for more road building, for higher weight limits on lorries and removal of restrictions on lorries driving through town centres.

Encouraging Intensive Agriculture
Tesco relies on Iarge suppliers, with the ability to deliver large quantities at short notice. Produce is of Unifom appearance and sold year round. T his necessitates both importing from around the world and using heav ily chemical dependent agriculture. The former has huge energy and pollution costs, and threatens the livelihood of British farmers whilst forcing ThirdWorld farmers to grow crops for export instead of meeting their own food needs. The use of fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides pollutes the water supply, erodes soil fertility, upsets ecosystems and threatens our health every time we eat the products.

Using Excessive Packaging
Tesco uses enormous quantities of packaging for 3 reasons:(1) because Tesco encourages customers to buy products to last them several days (or weeks); (2) because Tesco uses aggressive promotion and marketing ( a third of all packaging is purely for appearance); (3) because Tesco encorages customers to buy convenience foods (which make up 35% of purchases), which require more packaging, particulary microwave and freezer foods.

The packaging industry uses 5% of the UK’s total energy consumption and causes pollution, and disposal puts yet more strain on the country ‘s land fill sites. The average h ouse hold spends £470 per year on packaging - almost a sixth of food expenditure. The UK throws away 150 tonnes of packaging a year, only 5% of which is recycled.

Brainwashing Customers
In 1994 Tesco spent over £29 million on advertising, more than any other retailer. Like all supermarkets, Tesco stores are laid out to psychologically influence peoples buying decisions so they buy the product which give Tesco the greatest margins – often the least healthy or most enviromewntal;y damaging. Over 50%of purchases are decided on after entering the store. The goods Tescos wants customers to buy are placed at eye level, at the start and end of aisles and near the checkouts. Music and the smell of fresh bread etc. are used to keep customers in the buying mood. Customers are divided into a number of standard models with whose behaviour they are predicted to conform – which are you? Now with the Clubcard, Tesco is able to keep a record of exactly what each customer buys and at what time, so that it can tailor its marketing exactly to control you.