The report below provides an insight into the supermarket company Tesco, with emphasis

on the companys internal analysis of resources, competence and competitive advantage,

whilst also considering its external environment. Tesco are the chosen company for this
report as they are the market leader within the supermarket industry, Tesco controls over 30
percent of the UK grocery market, a figure which is almost double the combined share of
nearest rivals Asda and Sainsburys. This provides the report with an excellent basis for
analysis of competitive advantage. The statistical evidence for the companys performance
over the last five years can be seen in the table and graphs, within in the appendix. Tesco
Chairman Sir Richard Broadbent states that Tescos core competencies are that it has
outstanding operational effectiveness; it understands deeply what it means to orientate a
business around the customer; it is passionate, and successful, about developing talent
from within; and it manages a complex operating environment with great team work.
(TescoPlc, 2013). Tesco state that their core values and strategic objectives are meeting
customer needs through innovation and change and treating colleagues with a culture of
trust and respect (TescoPlc, 2013). When Tesco competes to gain a competitive
advantage, it is not just the environment that distinguishes them from their competitors but
their internal strategic capabilities (Oxtoby et. al, 2002). For Tesco to gain an advantage
over its competitors, it must use its resources and capabilities that enable it to manage a
superior performance compared with its competition (Bolivar-Ramos et. al, 2012). It must
have distinctive core competencies, which are the skills, and abilities by which resources
are deployed through activities and processes that allow it to deliver the value to the
customer (Grewal and Slotegraar, 2007). For these recourses to be used in order to