Our Vision & Values

Our core purpose is to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty. We do this through our values and code of conduct, the way we choose to work at Tesco. Our values are summed up in two phrases - ‘no-one tries harder for customers’ and ‘treat people how we like to be treated’.

Our customer values are our commitment to understanding customers better than anyone, and using our strengths to deliver unbeatable value for our customers. We do this through Every Little Helps, three little words that basically sum up what Tesco is all about.

But what does it stand for? Well, we used to be a business that was doing things very well. But we decided we wanted to do more for our customers than that. So we did quite a remarkable thing. We asked them what they wanted from us.

They reminded us of one important fact. Nobody loves doing the shopping. The “oh, we’ve run out of sugar – and we need some more loo roll” kind of shopping. So, we figured that we needed to do something to make shopping more bearable.

So Every Little Helps was born. And it covered a whole range of initiatives. To help mums, we put nappy changing facilities in stores. To speed up queues, we started packing customers’ bags. And if someone wanted a fatter melon, we let them swap.

It’s summed up in two phrases – ‘no-one tries harder for customers’ and treat people how we like to be treated’.

And as part of Every Little Helps, we developed a list of customer promises:

• I can get what I want
• The aisles are clear
• The prices are good
• I don’t have to queue
• The staff are great

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But the funny thing is, it works. And it helps everybody at Tesco to understand why we’re here and what we’re aiming to achieve.

Obviously, at the end of the day, we’re a commercial business. And naturally, we aim to be a highly successful one. But Every Little Helps is part of that too. Because by looking after our customers and giving them something that makes their lives a little bit easier, we’ve grown and grown.

And, as you’ll see in our working environment section, Every Little Helps applies just as much to our own people. We’ve made similar promises to them. About being respected. About being helped at work. About having the chance to get on. And about doing something interesting that allows you to use your initiative and be creative. Because if we’re not looking after you, then we’re not looking after our customers.

So with Every Little Helps everybody wins really.