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Daily Record
Daily Record
Lifestyle
Jacob Rawley

People just discovering what Tesco stands for as name dates back 100 years

The name Tesco is well-known in the UK, even those who don't shop there will be aware of the huge supermarkets with a blue and red logo dotted around the country.

But not as many people know what the name Tesco actually stands for and the reason behind it dates back around 100 years.

There were rumours that the store is named after the founder's wife, but in actuality, it came from a 1923 shipment of tea, writes the Mirror.

The store was founded in 1919 by a man called Jack Cohen who was the son of Jewish migrants from Poland.

After selling odd items from a stall in Hackney, London, he sought to eventually open a store. Cohen funded his stall with demobilisation money from the Royal Flying Corp, which he was a part of during The Great War.

In 1923, Cohen bought a shipment of tea from a man called Thomas Edward Stockwell, and with this product he was able to open his first store in London in 1929.

When he opened his store, Thomas Edward Stockwell's initials 'TES' were combined with the first two letters of Jack Cohen's surname 'CO'. To this day, T.E Stockwell tea is one of the cheapest options available at the store, and can be bought online for 69p.

A recent Tweet from nostalgia account Knowledge of London got people chatting about the name's origins.

"There was an urban myth that his wife was called Tessie (Cohen) and that this gave rise to the name Tesco. But a myth is precisely what it was," one commenter wrote.

The London store soon expanded, with the retail firm opening its first supermarket nearly three decades later in 1958.

Explaining the evolution of the Tesco brand, from smaller shops to supermarkets, Tesco's website states: "The new format store included a counter service selling cheese, butter and meats weighed by sales assistants."

Cohen, known for his motto; 'stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap', passed away in 1979. Tesco stores are found across most towns in the UK, with over 4,000 branches.

The reasoning behind the name is very similar to that of one of its main competitors, Asda. Recently we told how the firm was named as a result of a merger as ASquith and DAiries (of Associated Dairies) came together on May 3 1965, resulting in the ASDA name we all know today.

Similarly, many curious online minds had been wondering what fashion giant ASOS stands for - which is As Seen On Screen.

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