Based on Wal-Mart's success in the United States, many expected the company to quickly dominate the British market after it bought the Asda grocery chain in 1999. That has not happened; Wal-Mart's market share in groceries is a little more than half that of its biggest competitor, Tesco. Initially, Tesco's sales and net income rose significantly while Wal-Mart's sales and net income increased at a much slower rate. More recently, Wal-Mart has made small gains in market share, and Tesco has had small decreases. Wal-Mart found out that Tesco is a formidable worldwide competitor. Tesco operates almost 2400 shops in Britain in four different formats. It has a very successful operation in Central Europe, and it has expanded to the United States with Fresh & Easy shops. In Korea, Tesco's 174 shops are thriving while Wal-Mart gave up after an eight-year effort to succeed and sold its 16 shops. One of the biggest reasons for Tesco's success is its use of technology. In 1995, Tesco started a loyalty card program, called Clubcard, and over 80% of its shoppers are members. Shoppers fill out an application in the shop and receive a plastic card and a key fob in the mail that is scanned before they make a purchase. Tesco gathers massive amounts of data about its customers' 15 million purchases each week. Sales data are analysed and turned into information that provides Tesco with a significant competitive advantage. As traditional advertising loses effectiveness, these large stores of data allow Tesco to find new and creative ways to market its products. Question P_2.2. What can Tesco accomplish with the Clubcard data it collects? Think in term of strategy and competitive advantage. Question P_2.3. Do an internet search to find out how Tesco is doing in comparison to Wal-Mart and other grocers and retailers. Write a few paragraphs explaining your findings.