Business Development Strategy

Introduction

Business development strategy plays a major role in ensuring the long-term health of the company, as is determines the opportunities for and the execution of entry into new markets (including both geographic and product-based markets.) One example of an international company undergoing significant current business development, particularly internationally, is that of Tesco Plc, a United Kingdom based supermarket chain that has in recent decades expanded into the European, North American, and Asian markets with success. All facets of the company operation have been affected by this expansion, including business structure, corporate culture, organizational structures, and the financial status of the company. Tesco's most recent expansion, into the United States (California) in late 2007, provides an excellent opportunity to examine its business development and international expansion strategies in detail and to analyse the strengths, weaknesses, and potential success or failure of these business strategies.

Company Background

Jack Cohen (Tesco, 2008) founded Tesco Plc (TSCO.L) in 1919. After expanding into every available market in the United Kingdom, including developing new store formats for small areas (Tesco Metro) and a superstore format (Tesco Extra), new product lines such as electronics and home goods, and an environmentally-aware range of foods, the company began to expand internationally (Tesco, 2008). The first expansion was in 1995, when Tesco opened a store in Hungary (Tesco, 2008). Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Taiwan, Thailand, and South Korea followed this initial expansion in the 1990s (Tesco, 2008). Today, Tesco serves a total of twelve international markets, plus all areas of the United Kingdom (Tesco, 2008).