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As a virtual operator, Tesco Mobile does not own or operate its own network infrastructure. It operates as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) using the network of O2. In July 2008, Tesco bought out the Royal Bank of Scotland's 50% stake in the company for £950 million. The business made a profit of £130 million for the 52 weeks to 24 February 2007, of which Tesco's share was £66 million. It has been cited as a pivotal development in Tesco's progress towards becoming the UK's largest supermarket chain and one that fundamentally changed the country's supermarket business. In 1995,Tesco launched its customer loyalty scheme, the Tesco Clubcard. In 1998, Tesco and Esso (part of ExxonMobil) formed a business alliance that included several petrol filling stations on lease from Esso, with Tesco operating the attached shops under its Express format.

The company opened its first hypermarket in Wrocław Bielany in 1998. In April 2013, Tesco Malaysia launched the Grocery Home Shopping Service, where it delivered groceries ordered via the Internet to consumers, with no minimum purchase imposed. In December 2006, Tesco purchased the local operations of Dutch supermarket chain Makro for £80 million and rebranded them under the Tesco Extra name. In December 2000, Tesco entered into a joint venture with trading conglomerate Sime Darby Berhad to operate Tesco-branded Hypermarkets in Malaysia. In tescoslots September, C Two-Network Co, Ltd. was renamed to Tesco Japan Co, Ltd. and later launched a range of software. These stores, also based within Tokyo, would be folded under C-Two Network and rebranded under the Tsurukame name, expanding Tesco's operations in Japan to 104 stores. In April 2004, Tesco purchased the bankrupt supermarket chain Fre'c.

In June, Tesco announced a major cost-cutting initiative that would reduce the company's workforce by over 1,200 workers. In April, the company sold its in-shop opticians' business to Vision Express. In September, Tesco announced that it would sell the business to Ronald Burkle's Yucaipa Companies for an undisclosed amount. The first film was released on 6 September called Paris Connections, based on a popular novel by Jackie Collins. In 2006, Tesco announced plans to move into the United States by opening a chain of small-format groceries in the Western states (Arizona, California, and Nevada) in 2007 named Fresh & Easy. In Thailand, Tesco Lotus was a joint venture of the Charoen Pokphand Group and Tesco but, facing criticism over the growth of hypermarkets, CP Group sold its Tesco Lotus shares in 2003. In the 1960s, Tesco expanded the range of products it sold to include household goods and clothing under the Delamare brand, and in 1974 opened its first petrol station.

In 2012 it was reported that Tesco was looking to close the business to focus on groceries. The shops offered all of Tesco's ranges except food in warehouse-style units in retail parks. Although Tesco continued to stock non-food items the stand-alone shops were closed and the name was no longer in use when Tesco Extra was launched. Support company called The PC Guys in 2007, and were able to launch Tesco Tech Support in December 2008. Its broadband service was launched in August 2004 to complement its existing internet service provider business, providing an ADSL-based service delivered via BT phone lines.

The company purchased 70 Williamson's shops (1957), 200 Harrow Stores outlets (1959), 212 Irwins shops (1960), 97 Charles Phillips shops (1964) and the Victor Value chain (1968) (sold to Bejam in 1986). Jack Cohen, the son of Jewish migrants from Poland, founded Tesco in 1919 when he began to sell war-surplus groceries from a stall at Well Street Market, Hackney, in the East End of London. In the 1990s, Tesco re-positioned itself from being a downmarket high-volume low-cost retailer, attempting to attract a range of social groups with its low-cost "Tesco Value" range (launched 1993) and premium "Tesco Finest" range. It is the market leader of groceries in the UK (where it has a market share of around 28.4%). The company was founded by Sir Jack Cohen in Hackney, London, in 1919. Tesco plc (/ˈtɛs.koʊ/) is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England.

In May 2019, an undercover investigation of a Tesco egg supplier in Asia found that Tesco was serving Southeast Asian customers eggs from battery cage farms. In August 2013, Tesco was fined £300,000 after admitting that it misled customers over the pricing of "half-price" strawberries. In 1992, Tesco started a "computers for schools scheme", offering computers in return for vouchers given to Tesco customers and donated by them to schools and hospitals. According to Kantar Worldpanel, Tesco's share of the UK groceries market in the 12 weeks to 26 January 2025 was 28.5%, up from 27.8% in the 12 weeks to 28 January 2024. In April 1999, Tesco entered into a 51-49% joint venture with Samsung C&T Corporation entitled Tesco-Samsung, with the latter's supermarket chain Homeplus merging under it. In March 2020, Tesco sold Tesco Malaysia to the Thailand-based Charoen Pokphand Group for US$10.6bn, including debt, in a deal that included the Thailand operations. At the end of March 2014, ÆON Every's remaining stores were closed or sold, and the company ceased operations. C Two-Network owned a Japanese supermarket chain called Tsurukame, which had 78 mid-sized stores based within Tokyo.

The Tesco supermarket chain is involved in litigation such as the Ward v Tesco Stores Ltd and Tesco Supermarkets Ltd v Nattrass cases. In September 2025, an RTÉ investigation found that Tesco was selling products supplied by factories linked to a forced labour programme. Employees reported working up to 99 hours a week, receiving wages significantly below the Thai legal minimum, and having their immigration documents retained by the factory management. In December 2022, a The Guardian investigation revealed that Burmese migrant workers at the VK Garment Factory in Thailand, which produced F&F clothing for Tesco between 2017 and 2020, were subjected to forced labour conditions. In November 2020, a BBC investigation uncovered allegations of routine exploitation in southern Indian garment factories supplying several major British retailers, including Tesco.

By 2009, Tesco Lotus operated 380 stores, claiming to serve 20 million customers every month and that 97% of its goods were sourced from Thailand. Renamed to Tesco Lotus Supercenter and later simply Tesco Lotus, The two companies operated Tesco Lotus under a joint-venture known as Ek-Chai Distribution. Both companies stated that they would focus their efforts on countries with strong market positions. The chain struggled to survive a saturated market led by other supermarket chains. At the height of its operations in Poland the company operated from over 450 various format stores as well as an online shopping service.

The operation had previously been run from Jersey but had been closed by authorities who feared damage to the island's reputation. In response to the investigation, Tesco committed to using only cage-free eggs in Thailand and Malaysia by 2028. In July 2021, an investigation showed chickens at a Tesco supplier being left to die of thirst in overcrowded sheds, with some resorting to cannibalism and many suffering ammonia burns. The following year, an investigation into a chicken farm found fast-growing birds believed to be in chronic pain and others that could barely stand up. Tesco has been criticized for aggressively pursuing critics of the company in Thailand.