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OK. So my UK listeners are giving me quite an education of Tesco in the UK. Most tell me that Tesco was the most profitable supermarket retailer in the world last year beating out WalMart. Tesco is first and foremost a Supermarket and sells food, but they have been expanding. Now there are 3 types of Tesco stores: Tesco: These are medium to large size stores and sell mostly food with a very limited electrical section. Tesco Extra: These are the flagship stores. These stores sell almost everything. Food, clothing, DVDs, some computer accessories etc. The Extra stores would be the most likely ones to get Apple Mini stores. Tesco Express: These are the smallest of the stores, mainly situated on housing estates, they operate very much like a corner shop. Apple did a small test of the Mini store concept and listener Nik sent in the picture above from the Milton Keynes store. If you have any picts of an Apple Tesco Mini store send them in and I will add them to the gallery. Thanks to everyone who emailed and educated me on Tesco.
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I belive this is a massive mistake for Apple. The brand image of Apple is what attracts many buyers in the fist place. Tesco and Apple are complete opposites! Having mini stores inside Tesco will seriously damage Apples image. The typical Tesco customer will want the cheapest no frills pc. Although Tesco currently sell ipods, having a complete mini store selling Apple Macs beside Tesco ‘value’ (own cheap brand) products is altogether another matter. DONT DO IT APPLE!
I disagree entirely. I think a massive retail chain is the perfect place for Apple to get the extra exposure it needs in the UK. There is only 1 or 2 places where I live that sell Apple products, and they are very much second fiddle to PC sales.
With a mini store inside Tesco shopping centres, it will increase the visibility of Apple by a massive amount! I cannot understand your reasoning for this move damaging Apple’s image!
The more exposure the better. The Mac products speak for themselves. Wherever Macs are sold they are still Macs. I either shop online for Macs or drive hours nay a day to get to the nearest Apple store. The closer the better I say.
I totally agree with you stuart. Although some see big corporations as “evil”, it can only promote apple, almost all of my classmates would never had seen a macintosh, if one of our teachers wasn’t an apple (loving?) powerbook owner.
Currently, Tesco only sells the cheap PC boxes, but I believe the better looking appeal of the macs will surely grab the attention of those with a slightly higher budget.
Also, I belive Tesco is venturing into the US market this year. And a little tidbit: £1 in every £8 in the UK is spent at Tesco
West coast US stores just announced.
more tidbit info: Tesco controled 38% of superstore market share in the UK last year!
What about wal-mart? mini stores will increase apple bottom line here in the states
So are the Tesco mini stores manned ?
Those computers on display are going to need someone to look after them. I do hope its not a case of a normal staff member also being given the apple mini store to look after.
It definately needs some one there to guide purchasers !
For those of you not from the UK, Tesco has a long established track program called “Computers For Schools”, whereby each time you shop you receive vouchers, that your school can then “cash in” for Computers. There is currently a big advertising campaign for this years program, so Tesco/Apple/Schools – makes sense to me, so watch this space :-)
Also Tesco’s target market is the upper quartile of the population, they aren’t a cheap Supermarket by a long way, so their brand value and identity is pretty high – this makes a LOT of sense in my opinion, not least because I could now go and play around in the Apple “Store” rather than the fruit and salad aisles!!!!
And Peter – yep they are manned. The term “mini store” related to smaller stores, usually in high streets, that carry a small range of products, typically for busy office workers to pop in and grab food for that days consumption either for lunch or at home, so lots of high quality ready made meals type of stuff.
It will lower the overall tone of the image of Apple. Tesco is certainly not how ‘Myapplestuff’ makes it out to be. The amount of tokens required to fund a computer is ridiculous. More PR than substance. There is real growing concern of the power of the big four supermarkets in the UK, and Tesco is is the largest. Tesco certainly does NOT target the upper sector of customers. I feel the ‘wholesome’ Apple image will be tarnished by association of such a bully boy company. Time will tell.
eh I dont care, I live in Florida. but I think thats awesome… if I were at a Tesco, I would probably be there most of the time… does anyone know if the things will be cheaper there?? (since it IS sort of like a UK walmart)
g0rdo:
No, the prices will not be cheaper at a Tesco or a Walmart. Check online for prices of new Macs, they are essentially the same everywhere. The reason things are cheaper at Walmart (and other stores of that type) is because they either demand a lower price from the supplier, or because it is an inferior product marketed as a superior one.
I think that selling Macs everywhere possible is a good thing, provided that they are maintained appropriately and keep a good appearance. They would have to be watched over by a person one would find in an Apple Store, not by Mrs. Gladdys Redneck, a 65 yr. old woman from Ohio, who has never used a computer for more than 5 minutes.
Being a mac user all my life, I know this sounds crazy but, I love being the underdog 3-5 %. I don’t want just anybody to be my mac using peer. I like the fact that I’m different, and can’t get a mac at wal-mart. If 97% of computer users had mac’s what fun would that be? Hey we know what the best is, and we’ve stood by apple it for years. I’d hate to have a 97% of PC users ripping on macs as if it they were some cheap ass wallyworld PC.
terrier, you’re right. Tesco is THE cheapest supermarket in the UK, just look at the signs they have comparing them to other supermarkets. They are even cheaper than Asda a believe; a supermarket chain own by Wal-Mart (we have it here too :O)
But tesco… apple… schools :) I’m listening!
APPLE=EXCLUSIVITY+STYLE+PLEASURE+QUALITY
TESCO=DOWNMARKET+TASTELESS+CHEAPNESS
That’s a good thing trust me!
Mac are few and far between of here in this part of Europe, and mostly because there is not many store that sell Mac, ans Apple stores are few and far between!
But here’s an Interesting fact: Ireland has a population of more than 4,000,000 people, but not even one Apple store!!
We are crying out for a few apple stores in Ireland!!!
sorry, typo.
I am a Tesco employee working in their UK head office…
In fact, one of the reasons that Tesco has been so successful is that they manage to appeal to everyone. The social and economic profile of Tesco customers almost exactly matches that of the general UK population.
Yes, they do have a cheap “Tesco Value” range, but also premium “Tesco Finest” products.
By the way, Tesco have indeed moved into the US with recent acquisitions in California. Check out this article (and others…): http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/24/news/companies/tesco_us
I, for one, welcome being able to pop into my local Tesco and pick up a new Mac.
If I had a pound for everytime I have to explain to people what an Apple Mac actually is I’d be a rich man. This is something our American friends who contribute here, on digg, on twit and so on just don’t understand.
Apple’s profile in the UK is nowhere near that which it has in America and London (which, with respect, should be considered as almost a separate country to the rest of the UK).
Now that Apple are effectively on equal footing with the likes of Dell and HP, who Tesco have been selling machines from for some time, people won’t wonder any longer what an Apple Mac is, they’ll be able to walk up to one, touch it and see for themselves what it’s all about.
This is so great!
Hi,
Some context to explain why some left leaning liberals in the UK distrust Tesco and believe Apple should chose their UK partners based on ethics (rather than only profitability).
Tesco was one of the first retailers in the UK to develop business in the ex-Soviet bloc after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is a company that is ferociously global, though remains almost unknown in areas of the world into which it has not ventured.
Tesco provides an incredible service, tailored to local interests, and the are cheap but is ‘a victim of it’s own success’ in that wherever it opens a store, small retailers and local family businesses tend to disappear and towns seem to change.
Dame Shirley Porter is a UK right-wing politician whose reputation was challenged by many financial scandals that often involve property sales and political interference which smack of ‘social and political clearance’.
She is an heiress of the Tesco ‘family’ and is beyond marriageable age – in case male readers have any ideas. Heiress sounds quite attractive.
Tesco is tarred by a wider political brush, eminating from it’s past and largely beyond it’s control.
From the BBC:
The disclosure of emails suggest that Tesco heiress Dame Shirley Porter – Westminster council’s disgraced former Tory leader who owes £37m – has an offshore fortune. Matt Weaver explains
Tuesday July 1, 2003
How much does Dame Shirley owe?
In December 2001 the House of Lords ordered Dame Shirley to pay a surcharge of £27m for her part in the Westminster council homes for votes scandal of the 1980s. The law lords said the former council leader’s “corrupt” attempts to gain political support by selling off council homes in marginal wards to potential Tory voters was “a deliberate, blatant and dishonest misuse of public power”. With interest the total owed has now climbed to £37m.
How much is she worth?
In January 2002, when her assets were seized, Dame Shirley told the courts that she only had £300,000 to her name. But previously, at least, she owned significantly more as one of the heiresses to her father Jack Cohen’s Tesco empire. According to the Sunday Times’ rich list her wealth in 2001 was estimated to be £69m. Others put her combined wealth at more than £300m
What has she done with the money?
In the mid 1990s with the prospect of a multimillion pound surcharge looming Dame Shirley moved her Tesco shares from accounts in her own name to an undisclosed fund. It is believed that Dame Shirley, who now lives in Israel, has since invested the money in foreign trusts and Swiss bank accounts beyond the reach of the British authorities.
That was very enlightening Ian. Your phrase ‘ethics rather than profitability’ sums it up perfectly
Ian,
That’s Apple you’re talking about, not the Co-Op!
Like them or loath them, both Tesco and Apple are focussed on maximising the returns to their shareholders. These are hard-nosed businesses, not charities.
By the way, I’m not sure why you think investing in Eastern European countries is a reason some people mistrust Tesco.
Dame Shirley Porter’s actions were entirely beyond the control of Tesco. Yes, she inherited a huge stockholding from her father, but she has never held a formal position within the company, or had any active role as far as I know.
My concern is with the dominance of the supermarkets in the UK, and I have no doubt that their incredible buying power has forced many small businesses to close.
As the biggest supermarket chain in the UK, Tesco are under the most scrutiny and criticism. But don’t kid yourself that Asda, Morrisons and the Sainsbury’s operate any differently.
well, thats about as big as my apple centre here in australia
I’m just wondering; does anyone know if the Safeway that used to be in the UK before Morrisons bought them is the same as the Safeway in the US?
The UK Safeway is/was totally unrelated to the US Safeway.
I guess the only reason you should buy from Tesco is if they offer lower prices on Apple products… which they won’t.
Otherwise support your local Apple retailer for better personal service to you & to maintain the integrity of independent retailers. We will regret a Tesco / Wal Mart monopoly.
Not quite!….The UK Safeway chain was founded in 1962 by Safeway from the USA but was spun off and sold in 1987 and listed on the London Stock Exchange as Safeway Stores plc.
I think this is generally a good thing for Apple, particularly from the aspect of brand visibility.
I think many a tesco shopper may have the means to purchase a Mac, yet fails to buy due to unfounded & outdated concerns that our beloved platform is in some way incompatible.
Perhaps if these shoppers could be exposed to operational Macs, properly supported – I agree Peter [7] – in an environment where they did not feel intimidated (aka PC World) they may begin to slowly absorb the fact that Apple & their Macs are a viable alternative to Windows PC’s
What is more, while Tesco are at it Рwhy not establish a free instore hotspot (most medium to large stores already have a caf̩) where delighted iBook wielding, newbie converts can use their Tesco purchased iTunes pre-pay vouchers to download the latest tunes?! ;-)
Tesco’s music download service states…
System requirements
You will need
Windows 98 Second Edition or above
Windows Media Player 9 or above
If using a digital music player, one that supports Windows Media files with Digital Rights Management encryption (DRM 9 or above)
Note
This service is not compatible with Apple iPod
DOH!
Sam Radio, the reason apple are making these mini stores is because there aren’t the actual apple stores; only 5 in the UK. I’m sure if there was an apple store instead or as well, that is where the customers would go.
And Nutnode, just typical, eh?!