Jack Cohen (businessman)
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Sir John Edward Cohen (born Jacob Kohen; 6 October 1898 – 24 March 1979) was an English grocer who founded 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 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 ...
chain.


Early and private life

Cohen was born in
Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...
in the
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and grew up at 91 Ashfield Street.P. M. Oppenheimer, ‘Cohen, Sir John Edward (1898–1979)’, rev. ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, January 200
accessed 23 September 2013
/ref> His family were
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
: his father, Avroam Kohen, was a Polish immigrant from
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who worked as a tailor, and his mother was Sime Zaremba. He was named Jacob but was known as Jack from an early age. He was educated at Rutland Street School until he was aged 14 and then began his working life as an apprentice tailor to his father. His mother died in 1915 and his father remarried. He became estranged from his father after an argument about his career choice as a grocer. In 1917, he volunteered to join the
Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...
where he used his tailoring skills as a canvas maker for balloons and other aircraft. He served in France, and also in Egypt and Palestine. In December 1917, he was on board , a passenger and cargo ship that had been taken over by the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
as a supply ship and
troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...
. The vessel had sailed from
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carrying soldiers and medical personnel. But just as it reached its destination,
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on the 31st, it struck a mine that had been laid at the harbour entrance a few days earlier by the German submarine . The ship sank in less than seven minutes with the loss of 209 people, including soldiers, nurses, ship's crew and the ship's captain. Cohen survived, thanks to a nurse who helped him stay afloat in the water. He returned to England after contracting
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
, and was demobilised in 1919. He married Sarah (Cissie) Fox, daughter of an immigrant Russian-Jewish tailor, in 1924. Cissie was a great supporter of her husband's business interests, so much so that the money they received as wedding gifts was invested in a wholesale venture. They had two daughters, Sybil Irene (1926–2005) and Shirley (born 1930). Irene married Hyman Kreitman (1914–2001) and
Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film * ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...
married Leslie Porter (1920–2005). Cohen formally changed his name from Jacob Kohen to John Edward Cohen by
deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract because it binds only one party (law), party. Et ...
in July 1937. He continued to work after a
colostomy A colostomy is an opening ( stoma) in the large intestine (colon), or the surgical procedure that creates one. The opening is formed by drawing the healthy end of the colon through an incision in the anterior abdominal wall and suturing it int ...
operation in 1958, even after standing down as chairman of Tesco in 1969. He died on 24 March 1979 at the age of 80 in
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and is buried at
Willesden Jewish Cemetery The Willesden United Synagogue Cemetery, usually known as Willesden Jewish Cemetery, is a Jewish cemetery at Beaconsfield Road, Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent, England. It opened in 1873 on a site. It has been described as the ...
.


Career

Cohen was reluctant to return to tailoring after the First World War, and he established himself as a market stall holder in Hackney, in London's East End by purchasing surplus
NAAFI The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI ) is a company created by the British government on 9 December 1920 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families. It runs ...
stock with his £30 demob money. At each market the traders would gather and, at a signal they would race to their favoured pitch. Cohen could not run fast so he simply threw his cap at the spot and this could beat anyone. He soon became the owner of a number of market stalls, and started a
wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...
business. Initially the other stalls were run by members of the family but gradually non-family members were added. Cohen and his wife Elizabeth worked seven days a week, starting at dawn and counting money until late. In 1924, he created the Tesco brand name from the initials of a partner
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
supplier, T. E. Stockwell (formerly Messrs Torring and Stockwell of
Mincing Lane Mincing Lane is a short one-way street in the City of London linking Fenchurch Street to Great Tower Street. In the late 19th century it was the world's leading centre for tea and spice trading. Etymology Its name is a corruption of Mynchen ...
), and the first two letters of his surname. The market trading business became difficult to expand because partners tended to be unreliable so eventually he changed to high street shops without doors, looking and sounding as far as possible like market stalls. The first two Tesco stores opened at
Becontree Becontree or Both pronunciations are given as Received Pronunciation in the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, but the form is prioritised (). The dialectologist Peter Wright wrote in 1981 that is the traditional pronunciation in the cockney ...
and
Burnt Oak Burnt Oak is a suburb of London, England, located northwest of Charing Cross. It lies to the west of the M1 motorway between Edgware and Colindale, located predominantly in the London Borough of Barnet, with parts comprising the London Boroughs ...
in 1931. By 1939, Cohen owned a hundred Tesco stores. His expansion was helped by the growth of new shopping centres. Retailers are often reluctant to be the first to sign a contract in a new centre lest they become the only ones. With his market experience and courage, Cohen was often the one to take that risk and he had ways of drawing a crowd. Developers became keen to help him with his start-up costs because of his ability to get people into a new centre, benefiting the other shops. The first Tesco bank account was opened at the
Midland Bank Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836. It ...
in the Narroway, Mare Street, Hackney. A plaque in the branch later marked this event. Sometime around 1930 he changed his name by deed poll to John Edward at the suggestion of his bank manager, whose staff had trouble distinguishing between the many Jacob Cohens banking at the branch in Hackney. In 1932, having opened his first Tesco-named shops, Cohen travelled to the United States to review their self-service supermarkets. At the time he was not impressed and felt they would never be accepted in the UK. After the war he took another look and listened to his son-in-law Hyman Kreitman, who was very keen. He opened one of the first British supermarkets. The new strategy was led by Kreitman who understood how to manage this new style of shop and the crucial tasks of mass buying, selling and logistics. Tesco grew strongly. It gradually drew ahead of its rivals and took over many of them. He expanded the company by take-overs and mergers, making it the fourth largest chain in the United Kingdom by 1968 (behind
Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
,
Fine Fare Fine Fare was a chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Their Yellow Pack budget private label, own-label range, introduced in 1980, was the first Value brands in the United Kingdom, own brand basic ranges to be introduced in the UK. His ...
, and
Allied Suppliers Home and Colonial Stores was once one of the United Kingdom's largest retail chains. Its formation of a vast chain of retail stores in the late 1920s is seen as the first step in the development of a UK food retail market dominated by a small num ...
). He campaigned against retail price maintenance, tackled in the second half of the 1960s by the Resale Prices Act 1964, and was a leading instigator of the Green Shield trading stamps scheme in 1963.


Honours

Cohen was appointed
Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...
in the 1969 New Year Honours. He was master of the
Worshipful Company of Carmen The Worshipful Company of Carmen is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London, whose origins date back to 1517. Carmen, or drivers of carts, caused upset in 1481.
in 1976–77. Sir John and Lady Cohen supported a range of charities in Britain and in Israel, giving their name to the
Jewish Care Jewish Care is a British charity, working mainly in London and South East England, providing health and social care support services for the Jewish community. The charity runs over 70 centres and services which include care homes, community centr ...
facility, Lady Sarah Cohen House, at
Friern Barnet Friern Barnet is a suburban area within the London Borough of Barnet, north of Charing Cross. Its centre is formed by the busy intersection of Colney Hatch Lane (running north and south), Woodhouse Road (taking westbound traffic towards North ...
, north London. In 2009 an
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
was placed at 91 Ashfield Street,
Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...
, London, where Cohen lived as a child. In 2018
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 ...
founded a new discount chain named after Cohen, called Jack's. In addition, the name T.E. Stockwell was introduced the same year for use on selected food products, replacing the Tesco Value brand on these goods.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Jack 1898 births 1979 deaths 20th-century English businesspeople Artists' Rifles soldiers Blue plaques British Army personnel of World War I British grocers British retail company founders Burials at Willesden Jewish Cemetery Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Chairmen of Tesco English businesspeople in retailing English Ashkenazi Jews English people of Polish-Jewish descent Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England Knights Bachelor People from Whitechapel Royal Flying Corps soldiers Tesco people