Quote:
"Tesco started as a one-man business in London's East End. Tesco was founded by Jack Cohen, son of a Polish Jewish tailor. He sold groceries in the markets of the East End from 1919.
The Tesco brand first appeared in 1924. The name derived after Jack Cohen bought a large shipment of tea from T.E. Stockwell (formerly Messrs Torring and Stockwell of Mincing Lane), he made new labels by using the first three letters of the supplier's name and the first two letters of his surname forming the word "TESCO". There is a wide mis-conception that the name is an abbreviation of the name of Jack Cohen's wife, Tessa Cohen, becoming TESCO - however this is wrong as Cohen was never married to a Tessa."
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesco
Chris