Sir John Edward Cohen (born Jacob Kohen; 6 October 1898 – 24 March 1979) was an English businessman who founded the supermarket chain Tesco. His company is the market leader of groceries in the UK, and was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues in 2011.
After serving in the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War, Cohen opened a market stall in Hackney in the East End of London in 1919. The first Tesco store opened in Edgware, north London, and by 1939 he had more than 100 stores, including the first stores outside London. He then floated the company onto the London Stock Exchange in 1947. As chairman of Tesco Stores (Holdings) Ltd. Cohen was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1969.
Early and private life
Cohen was born in Whitechapel in the East End of London and grew up at 91 Ashfield Street. His family were Jewish: his father, Avroam Kohen, was a Polish immigrant from Łódź who worked as a tailor, and his mother was Sime Zaremba. Cohen survived, thanks to a nurse who helped him stay afloat in the water. He returned to England after contracting malaria, and was demobilised in 1919. They had two daughters, Sybil Irene (1926–2005) and Shirley (1930-2026).
He continued to work after a colostomy operation in 1958, standing down as chairman of Tesco in 1969.
Career
Cohen was reluctant to return to tailoring after the First World War, and he established himself as a market stall holder in Hackney, in London's East End, by purchasing surplus NAAFI stock with his £30 demob money.
In 1924, he created the Tesco brand name from the initials of a partner tea supplier, T. E. Stockwell (formerly Messrs Torring and Stockwell of Mincing Lane), and the first two letters of his surname. He was master of the Worshipful Company of Carmen in 1976–77.
In 2009, an English Heritage blue plaque was placed at 91 Ashfield Street, Whitechapel, London, where Cohen lived as a child. In addition, the name T.E. Stockwell was introduced the same year for use on selected food products, replacing the Tesco Value brand on these goods.