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  "In Britain you are never far from Tesco, or one of the other big supermarket chains. 50 years ago, most people used to buy groceries daily at small independent shops. Now, most people shop weekly at one of the large supermarkets. People like being able to get all their groceries under one roof." [But a Tesco Express is something new / different again! It competes directly with smaller local independent convenience stores.]  
  Source: GCSE Geography textbook OCR/Oxford  
     
 

You could plot these figures as divided bar graphs – make a key, use neat shading. Accuracy in graph work – pencil at first!

Describe what these figures show about the share of people shopping at these types of shops. Quote figures in your answer

1960 Independents 60% / Supermarket 20% / Co-ops 20%

1980 Independents 20% / Supermarket 60% /  Co-ops 20%

2000 Independents 08% / Supermarket 85% / Co-ops 07%

2010 Independents 05% / Supermarket 90% / Co-ops 05%

 
  Source: GCSE Geography textbook OCR/Oxford  
     
  The big four supermarkets are now totally dominant:  
 

 
  Source: GCSE Geography textbook OCR/Oxford  
     
  Why do we shop at Supermarkets?  
 

 
  Source: GCSE Geography textbook OCR/Oxford  
     
  Tesco is the biggest of the BIG 4 in the UK:  
 

 
  Not content with capturing so much of the weekly grocery market - the Tesco Express is now targeted at the smaller local independent convenience market.  
     
 

How big is Tesco?

Huge. It has close to one third of the £95bn food and household goods retail market. That share is gradually increasing, despite already being about the same as its two nearest rivals put together: J Sainsbury and Asda each have close to 16%. Most people already know the much-quoted statistic that one pound in every eight spent in UK retailers is spent in Tesco.

 
  Moreover, Tesco’s growth (it opens an average of two new UK stores a week) is strongly driven by its expansion into everything from clothing to DVDs and even financial services. Overall, non-food sales now account for fully one-fifth of all sales, with clothing sales up 19% in the last six months and consumer electronics up 36%. Tesco is also extremely profitable.  
     
 

So what do Tesco’s critics say?

That its aggressive pricing ruins the character of town centres by forcing long-established shops out of business, that it abuses its power by demanding crippling terms from suppliers, and that it uses unfair tactics – such as ‘land banking’ (buying up potential store sites to stop competitors developing them) – to stifle competition.

 
 

What’s changed?

Recently, the big four (Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and William Morrison) have moved into the convenience sector with a vengeance. .... The so called Tesco Express!"

Extracts from this source: http://www.moneyweek.com/investment-advice/why-britain-loves-to-hate-tesco.aspx 		 
     
  Make sure you understand how a Tesco Express is different from a 'traditional' supermarket.