![Stokes Croft Gets Agitated](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Stokes_Croft_Gets_Agitated.jpg)
Criticism has been directed at Tesco from various groups, including national organisations, trade bodies, individuals, consumer groups and watchdogs, particularly since the early 2000s.
Criticism of Tesco and related litigation
As with any large corporation, the
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
supermarket chain is involved in
litigation
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
, usually from claims of personal injury from customers, claims of unfair dismissal from staff, and other commercial matters. Two notable cases were ''
Ward v Tesco Stores Ltd
''Ward v. Tesco Stores Ltd.'' 9761 WLR 810, is an English tort law case concerning the doctrine of ''res ipsa loquitur'' ("the thing speaks for itself"). It deals with the law of negligence and it set an important precedent in so called "trip and ...
'', which set a precedent in so-called 'trip and slip' injury claims against
retailers
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
, and ''
Tesco Supermarkets Ltd v Nattrass
''Tesco Supermarkets Ltd. v. Nattrass'' 971UKHL 1is a leading decision of the House of Lords on the "directing mind" theory of corporate liability.
This is a leading case on the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 section 24(1), where Tesco relied upon ...
'', which reached the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
and became a leading case regarding the corporate liability of businesses for failures of their store managers (in a case of misleading advertising). Criticism of Tesco includes disapproval of the effects
supermarket
A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
chains can have on
farmers
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...
,
suppliers
In commerce, a supply chain is a network of facilities that procure raw materials, transform them into intermediate goods and then final products to customers through a distribution system. It refers to the network of organizations, people, activ ...
and smaller competitors; along with claims of generally poor labour relations with its staff concerning
sick leave
Sick leave (or paid sick days or sick pay) is paid time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address their health needs without losing pay. It differs from paid vacation time or time off work to deal with personal matters, because sic ...
regulations. Accusations concerning using cheap and/or child labour in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
amongst other places,
have also arisen since the millennium.
Cases in the UK
Corporate policy
The UK's Competition Commission monopoly inquiry
In 2006, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) referred the UK grocery market to the Competition Commission for a new inquiry.
In January 2007, the
Competition Commission
The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under t ...
, published its initial findings into the UK grocery market. It said that they were "concerned with whether Tesco or any other
supermarket
A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
can get into such a strong position, either nationally or locally, that no other retailer can compete effectively". It, however, found no actual basis for accusations that Tesco could use its
land bank to control nearly half of national grocery retailing, and that suppliers' profits were being squeezed by the supermarket.
Tesco's 2004 Adminstore acquisition led to local and UK-wide protests. Tesco's other store openings and expansions are sometimes contested by campaign groups. When a company controls more than 25% of a business sector in the UK, it is usually blocked from buying other companies in that sector (but not from increasing its market share through organic growth). The
Office of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economic ...
currently treats supermarkets and convenience stores as two distinct sectors—although this definition has been challenged by smaller
retailers
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
, including the Association of Convenience Stores.
Planning infringements and corporate "land bank" conspiracy theory
In February 2006, a group of UK
MPs produced a report highlighting the near monopoly powers of the big four supermarkets. One problem discussed by the group was that of building without appropriate planning permission. The discussion stemmed from the company's building of a store in
Stockport
Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here.
Most of the town is within ...
that was 20% larger than the company actually had permission to build. In September 2006, subsequent (retrospective) planning permission was requested by Tesco but refused.
''Tesco Stores Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment''
995
Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Japan
* 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies.
* 3 June: Fujiwara no ...
1 W.L.R. 759;
995
Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Japan
* 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies.
* 3 June: Fujiwara no ...
2 All E.R. 636, deals with the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, where Tesco wanted to build a superstore outside Oxford.
Criticism of Tesco includes allegations of stifling competition due to its undeveloped "land bank", pugilistically aggressive new store development without real consideration of the wishes, needs and consequences to local communities, using cheap and/or child labour, opposition to its move into the convenience sector and breaching planning laws.
In April 2011, longstanding opposition to a
Tesco Express
Tesco plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues an ...
store in Cheltenham Road,
Stokes Croft
Stokes Croft is a road in Bristol, England. It is part of the A38, a main road north of the city centre. Locals refer to the area around the road by the same name.
The road became a centre of industry during the mid-19th century, including the ...
,
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, evolved into a violent clash between opponents and police. The recently opened storefront was heavily damaged and the police reported the seizure of
petrol bombs
A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flammab ...
. Opponents such as No Tesco in Stokes Croft, have suggested that the store would damage small shops and harm the character of the area.
Pricing and advertising
The group has been criticised for its tactics, including allegedly misleading consumers with "phoney" price cuts. For example, advertising huge savings, when in fact they are only lowering the price of less popular items and raising the price of more popular goods.
In 2011, Tesco was fined £300,000 for misleading customers regarding the sale of strawberries. Trading Standards in Birmingham brought the case stating that £1.99 strawberries on sale in Sheldon, Birmingham, had not been for sale at £3.99 long enough. Tesco admitted misleading customers into believing that the strawberries on sale were genuinely "half price".
Trading relations with suppliers
Tesco is also censured by those who think that it infringes upon the interests of farmers and smaller suppliers. The company responds by claiming that it follows industry-best practice and sources locally where it can to meet customer demand. In March 2005, the Office of Fair Trading published an audit of the workings of its code of practice on relationships between supermarkets and their suppliers. It reported that no official complaints had been received against Tesco or any of the other major supermarkets, but the supermarkets' critics, including
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...
, contested that suppliers were prevented from complaining by fear of losing business, and called for more rigorous supervision of the supermarkets. A further report by the Office of Fair Trading in August 2005 concluded that the aims of the Code of Practice were being met.
In September 2006, Tesco came to an agreement with Tyrrells Crisps to stop selling
grey market
A grey market or dark market (sometimes confused with the similar term " parallel market") is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels that are not authorized by the original manufacturer or trade mark proprietor. Grey market pr ...
supplies. Tyrrells was founded by potato farmer Will Chase after big supermarkets' purchasing-power almost put his farm out of business. He started Tyrrells to gain greater margin by selling directly, and only sold through delicatessens and
Waitrose
Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...
supermarket. After Tesco bought supplies from the grey market, Chase sought legal advice but Tesco backed down.
Tesco has been subject to several claims of apparently out-of-date food being 'back-labelled' to appear still to be within date,
and poor café hygiene
Tesco denied squeezing its suppliers in December 2013 after retail analyst
Cantor Fitzgerald
Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. is an American financial services firm that was founded in 1945. It specializes in institutional equity, fixed income sales and trading, and serving the middle market with investment banking services, prime brokerage, an ...
accused Tesco of practices that risked breaching the Groceries Supply Code of Practice and criticised its trading relationships.
Similar accusations were also made in April 2005
despite its record £2,000,000,000 profit.
Labour relations
American union leaders, representing employees of Tesco's Fresh & Easy brand, have complained that a "stark contrast" exists between the way the supermarket chain treats their British workers and staff at their US business.
Customer privacy laws
In January 2005, Tesco faced criticism for their testing of
RFID
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromag ...
tags used to collect information on product movement in pilot stores. Critics label the tags "Spy Chips" and allege that they are to be used to collect information on customers' shopping habits.
Financial affairs
Taxation laws
In 2008 Tesco sued ''The Guardian'' for libel and malicious falsehood over the newspaper's claims that Tesco has developed a complex taxation structure involving offshore bank accounts in the
tax haven
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
of the Cayman Islands.
The case was ultimately settled, with The Guardian issuing an apology.
SFO investigation into relations with the auditor PwC
In August, Tesco's financial management had announced that the firm's half-year dividend would be cut by 75% and full-year profits would be in the region of £2.4bn to £2.5bn, less than its previous revenue estimate of £2.8bn, and already £0.5bn down on last year's £3.3bn reported corporate profits.
The Serious Fraud Office launched a formal criminal probe into the auditing and accounting practices in mid 2014 and the Financial Reporting Council in December 2014. The US brokers JP Morgan claimed that the fiscal 'hole' in Tesco's accounts could be even worse than expected.
The FRC decided to investigate auditor PwC for allegedly maliciously messing about with Tesco's accounts. on 22 December 2014.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) launched a criminal investigation into alleged accounting irregularities.
Tesco said it had been "co-operating fully" with the SFO, who took matter out of the hands of the Financial Conduct Authority, the City's business regulator.
The UK accountancy regulator, the Financial Reporting Council, was also reported to be monitoring Tesco. Tesco's auditor PwC declined to comment.
It found that they were overstated by £118m in the first half of this year, by £70m in the 2013-2014 financial year and by £75m before that.
Warwick Business School's Prof Crawford Spence said: "Now that Tesco are being investigated for fraud by the SFO, the Financial Reporting Council have yet greater reason to start an investigation into the auditors' role with regard to these irregularities".
The accountancy firm Deloitte had launched investigation into Tesco's misreported profits a week earlier.
Tesco had suspended eight executives pending further enquiries by 18 October 2013, including the UK corporate boss Chris Bush, while an investigation into the scandal takes place. The firm is also withholding payments worth £2,000,000 to its former chief executive Philip Clarke and chief financial officer Laurie McIlwee.
Service levels
Clubcard
In January 2018, Tesco announced that all Clubcard points offers where points could be doubled or quadrupled would end. No notice was given to customers and Tesco faced a huge backlash. It then delayed the change to June 2018.
Product quality issues
February 2013 horse meat scandal
In 2013,
DNA tests
Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
revealed that horse meat was present in some meat products sold in
Findus
Findus () is a frozen food brand which was first sold in Sweden in 1945. Findus products include ready meals, peas and Crispy Pancakes, the latter of which were invented in the early 1970s.
The Swiss food company Nestlé owned the Findus brand ...
and
ABP Food Group
Laurence "Larry" Goodman (born 15 September 1937) is an Irish businessman, chiefly involved in the beef processing industry. He is the 6th generation of a livestock and meat exporting family and founded what is now ABP Food Group in 1954. He is ...
ready meals.
On 7 February 2013, it was revealed by the
Food Standards Agency
, type = Non-ministerial government department
, nativename =
, nativename_a =
, nativename_r =
, logo = Food Standards Agency.svg
, logo_width =
, logo_caption =
, seal =
, seal_width =
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, picture =
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that the Findus
beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus'').
In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...
lasagne range in the
UK,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and the
shepherd's pie
Shepherd's pie, cottage pie, or in its French version hachis Parmentier is a savoury dish of cooked minced meat topped with mashed potato and baked. The meat used may be either previously cooked or freshly minced. The usual meats are beef or lam ...
and
moussaka
Moussaka (, , ) is an eggplant- or potato-based dish, often including ground meat, which is common in the Balkans and the Middle East, with many local and regional variations.
The best-known version in Europe and the Americas is the Greek vari ...
ranges in France contained
horse meat
Horse meat forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of many countries, particularly in Eurasia. The eight countries that consume the most horse meat consume about 4.3 million horses a year. For the majority of humanity's early existe ...
without proper declaration or official scrutiny. The contamination may have gone on since summer 2012 according to a leaked document.
[ 2013-02-09 independent.co.uk] Ready packed meal firm
Findus
Findus () is a frozen food brand which was first sold in Sweden in 1945. Findus products include ready meals, peas and Crispy Pancakes, the latter of which were invented in the early 1970s.
The Swiss food company Nestlé owned the Findus brand ...
,
Compass Group
Compass Group plc is a British multinational contract foodservice company headquartered in Chertsey, England. It is the largest contract foodservice company in the world employing over 500,000 people. It serves meals in locations including off ...
was the world's biggest catering firm at the time, and
Whitbread
Whitbread plc is a multinational British hotel and restaurant company headquartered in Houghton Regis, England.
The business was founded as a brewery in 1742, and had become the largest brewery in the world by the 1780s.
Its largest division ...
, which was Britain's biggest hotel group, were indicted for illegally selling concealed horse meat in food products.
As a result, Tesco's
market capitalization
Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders.
Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by t ...
dropped on Wednesday 16 January 2013.
Tesco,
the Co-operative Group
Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op, is a British consumer cooperative, consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses including food retail, wholesale, e-pharmacy, insurance and legal services, and funeral care.
The Co-op ...
and Aldi also decided to cancel contracts with ABP Food Group because of the adulteration.
In a public letter later that day, 11 firms, including
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
and
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...
, said they shared shoppers' "anger and outrage".
Whitbread vowed to remedy the unacceptable situation on 26 February. The Food Standards Agency's (FSA) chief executive, Catherine Brown also said "it is unlikely we will ever know" how many unwittingly ate horse meat.
Food hygiene allegations
On 22 May 2007, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
's ''
Whistleblower
A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
'' programme showed undercover footage detailing breaches of food hygiene rules in a branch of Tesco. The Whistleblower reporter applied for a job following a tip-off from a former employee. Breaches included the sale of products after their sell-by date; allegations that the company illegally and sold 'back-labelled' products after their use by date; falsification of temperature records; and the sale of partially cooked mince mixed with uncooked mince.
In addition to this the
Food Safety Authority of Ireland
__NOTOC__
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) ( ga, Údarás Sábháilteachta Bia na hÉireann – USBE) is the statutory body responsible for ensuring food produced, distributed or marketed in Ireland complies with food safety and hygiene ...
, has on a number of occasions ordered the recall of Tesco branded products, including a case of glass contamination.
Environmental Health Officers served a closure order on Tesco's store in Prussia Street, Dublin, the day after they inspected it, for a number of breaches of Food Hygiene Regulations.
Branches of Tesco and Sainsbury's were been subject to claims of apparently out-of-date food being 'back-labelled' to appear still to be within date.
Alleged health and safety issues
Secret sale of Brian Fords discount stores
In June 2008, it was revealed that Tesco had bought independent supermarket Brian Fords discount stores (with one store in
Barnstaple
Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...
,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
, UK) five years previously, without notifying the public. Tesco submitted planning applications for a new
supermarket
A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
early in 2008 under Brian Fords' name. The plans included a Brian Fords sign and
North Devon Council
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
were said to be unaware of the Tesco takeover. It was later revealed that a separate property company,
Wixley Properties Ltd (which had zero
employees
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...
and zero
turnover) had actually bought the supermarket. Tesco said they were in control of Wixley Properties Ltd.
Fake farms
In March 2016, Tesco came under fire for branding products with fictional farms names. Later in the year the National Farmers Union lodged a complaint with Trading Standards over the matter.
Xenophobia
Romanians
On 21 November 2020, a member of the
Romanian diaspora
The Romanian diaspora is the ethnically Romanian population outside Romania and Moldova. The concept does not usually include the ethnic Romanians who live as natives in nearby states, chiefly those Romanians who live in Ukraine, Hungary, Serbi ...
in the United Kingdom pointed out that in one of Tesco's stores in London, there was a warning for shoplifters written in the
Romanian language
Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește'', ) is the official and main language of Romania and the Moldova, Republic of Moldova. As a minority language it is spoken by stable communi ...
that said "notice for store thieves, you will be legally prosecuted if caught stealing". The Romanian women posted this on Facebook and called it "blatantly racist and xenophobic". She requested the removal of the poster, a petition that was joined by the
Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( ro, Ministerul Afacerilor Externe) is the ministry responsible for external affairs of the Romanian Government. The current Foreign Minister is Bogdan Aurescu.
List of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (1 ...
(MAE), which expressed its "surprise and disagreement against the strongly discriminating message". The news went viral and were later published in
Romanian media
The mass media in Romania refers to mass media outlets based in Romania. Television, magazines, and newspapers are all operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related reven ...
. According to the
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
Overview
The ONS is responsible for th ...
, the
Romanians in the United Kingdom
Romanians in the United Kingdom refers to the phenomenon of Romanian people moving to the United Kingdom as citizens or non-citizen immigrants, along with British citizens of Romanian ancestry. The number of Romanian-born people resident in the ...
then formed a community of about 427,000, making them the fourth largest foreign group in the country at the time.
Overseas
Ireland
Tesco Ireland
Tesco Ireland is the Irish subsidiary of supermarket group Tesco. Tesco Ireland was formed by Tesco plc's 1997 purchase of the Irish retailing operations of Associated British Foods, namely Powers' Supermarkets Limited and its subsidiaries, tra ...
is the largest food retailer in Ireland, with over 13,500 employees. Tesco Ireland has been criticised for apparently high prices in its Irish stores. This may be because comparisons are with the British Tesco stores rather than other Irish retailers – and thus like goods are not being compared with like. However, there have been general criticisms of the similar pricing between Irish supermarkets, and economic reports noting the high prices in Ireland generally.
Research concluded that only a five per cent difference in the cost of goods between North and South was justifiable. The findings highlighted retailers' larger margins in the South vis-a-vis their operations in the North,
and the
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment ( ga, An tAire Fiontar, Trádála agus Fostaíochta) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
The current Minister for Ent ...
queried why the price differential in many identical goods was substantially in excess of 5%.
Tesco in Ireland was convicted of failing to properly display prices by the
National Consumer Agency
The National Consumer Agency (NCA; ga, Gníomhaireacht Náisiúnta Tomhaltoirí) was a statutory body enforcing consumer protection in Ireland from 2007 to 2014, when it amalgamated with the Competition Authority to form the Competition and Co ...
in July 2008.
A report by independent retailers group
RGDATA contained allegations that Tesco overcharged customers. The report shows that customers in six Tesco stores were overcharged by an average of 3% on some items.
In 2001, Environmental Health Officers served a closure order on Tesco's store in Prussia Street, Dublin, for breaches of Food Hygiene Regulations.
The British-owned supermarket, refused to stock any of the one million postcards which are aimed at closing the controversial plant at Sellafield in Cumbria. Dunnes Stores and Superquinn, along with other retailers across the country, did sell the postcards.
In 2009, the
Advertising Standards Authority determined Tesco's advertising was misleading. It claimed consumers could “save over 40%" but collectively the savings on the products advertised was less than 40%.
In 2006,
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
apologised for selling copies of the
antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
forgery ''
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...
''. Sheikh Dr Shaheed Satardien, head of the Muslim Council of Ireland, described the sales as "polluting the minds of impressionable young Islamic people with hate and anger towards the Jewish community." Tesco also sold the material in the UK.
Bangladesh
In Autumn 2006, a
Channel 4 News
''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982.
Current productions
''Channel 4 News''
''Channel 4 News'' ...
investigation found
child labour
Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...
in four
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
garment factories supplying Tesco.
War on Want published a report alleging that wages were as low as per hour for 80+ hour working weeks. Tesco stated "All suppliers to Tesco must demonstrate that they meet our ethical standards on worker welfare, which are closely monitored. Our suppliers comply with local labour laws, and workers at all Bangladeshi suppliers to Tesco are paid above the national minimum wage." Campaigners argued the
minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
in Bangladesh is too low, and that monitoring systems used by clothing retailers, such as Tesco, are ineffective.
China
In September 2011,
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
reported supermarkets in China, including Tesco, were selling vegetables that contained illegal pesticides or others at levels exceeding safe limits. Of 16 fruit and vegetable samples obtained from Tesco stores in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
and
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
, 11 did not comply with regulations and one contained residues of
methamidophos
Methamidophos, trade name "Monitor," is an organophosphate insecticide.
Crops grown with the use of methamidophos include potatoes and some Latin American rice. Many nations have used methamidophos on crops, including developed nations such as Spa ...
and
monocrotophos
Monocrotophos is an organophosphate insecticide. It is acutely toxic to birds and humans, so it has been banned in the U.S., the E.U., India and many other countries.
Uses
Monocrotophos is principally used in agriculture, as a relatively cheap ...
, both of which had been prohibited since 2007.
In December 2019, the
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alleged Tesco's
supply chain
In commerce, a supply chain is a network of facilities that procure raw materials, transform them into intermediate goods and then final products to customers through a distribution system. It refers to the network of organizations, people, acti ...
in China included forced
prison labour.
Hungary
In 2010, two KDFSZ
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
officials that had persuaded a fellow employee and his family to report a serious accident were dismissed by Tesco
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
. Tesco claimed the officials had been "unethical and dishonest", and that they had "violated good faith and respectability". The
Democratic Confederation of Free Trade Unions
The Democratic Confederation of Free Trade Unions (LIGA) in a national trade union center in Hungary. It was founded in 1989.
LIGA is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation and the European Trade Union Confederation
The ...
alleged Tesco breached Hungary's
Labour Code requirements to consult with their trade union prior to the dismissals.
Thailand
In 2008,
Thailand's Tesco
Lotus associate sought penalties of two years in prison and a £16.4m
libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
damages from, writer and former legislator, Jit Siratranont after he argued it was expanding aggressively at the expense of small, local retailers. Authors including
Joanne Harris
Joanne Michèle Sylvie Harris (born 3 July 1964) is an English-French author, best known for her novel '' Chocolat'' (1999), which was adapted the following year for the film '' Chocolat''.
Early life
Harris was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, t ...
,
Marina Lewycka
Marina Lewycka ( ; born 12 October 1946) is a British novelist of Ukrainian origin.
Early life
Lewycka was born in a refugee camp in Kiel after World War II. Her family subsequently moved to England; she now lives in Sheffield, South Yorkshire ...
and
Deborah Moggach
Deborah Moggach (née Hough; born 28 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter. She has written nineteen novels, including '' The Ex-Wives'', ''Tulip Fever'' (made into the film of the same name), ''These Foolish Things'' (made into ...
urged Tesco to "impress your critics with the force of argument, not the threat of imprisonment". The criminal defamation and civil libel cases were dismissed by the Thai courts. Tesco Lotus brought similar actions against two other critics. It dropped one and settled the other in return for an apology.
See also
*
Tesco Town
Tesco Town is British slang for an area where one retailer has large market share. Although the term references the Tesco chain of stores, it can be used to describe any area dominated by one particular retailer.
In October 2009 the Competition ...
References
External links
Documents detail sale of Brian Ford's supermarket to TescoTalking TescoTesco website arguing its ethical case.
''Nerve'', 7 April 2006
Supermarket Sweep UpIndependent Blog.
Tesco profile on Clean Up Fashion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Criticism Of Tesco
Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
Politics of the United Kingdom