"When you get to be as big and as successful as Tesco has become, people put a sort of sheen on the journey as if the place we got to was inevitable. But it really wasn t. I think it s important that Tesco s story is told honestly because there were moments when we could just as easily have gone the other way. That we didn t came as a big surprise to plenty of people who predicted that others would be the winners in what is still one of the most competitive markets in the world. i>Sir Terry Leahy, on retiring as Tesco s chief executive in February 2011From one man s Hackney market stall to a company serving 50 million customers in 14 countries every week and employing half a million people, this is the remarkable story of one of Britain s most successful businesses. Tesco s tale is a social story as well as a business epic and so it is told by the people who made the journey themselves, many from a base of real poverty. Tesco leaders, from the Board to the butchers counters including former chief executives Lord MacLaurin and Sir Terry Leahy, Group Chief Executive Philip Clarke and deputy Tim Mason describe the company s defining moments, good and bad. Their