Cohen, Sir John Edward
COHEN, SIR JOHN EDWARD
COHEN, SIR JOHN EDWARD (Jack ; 1898–1979), British businessman and philanthropist. Born Jacob Edward Kohen in the City of London, Cohen worked in his father's ladies' tailoring shop in the East End, before joining the Royal Flying Corps in World War i. After the war he used his army bonus of $150 to open a food stall in a London market. By World War ii he had built up a company of over 100 grocery stores in London and in Great Britain. After the war he built a chain of more than 500 supermarkets, groceries, and discount houses. He incorporated these into Tesco Stores (Holdings) Limited and associated companies and was chairman of its board. By the 1960s Tesco was one of the best known of High Street retail chains, and Sir Jack Cohen was virtually a household name as a prominent entrepreneur. In 1967 Cohen opened the first Tesco Superstore, vastly larger than previous branches. He was an active worker for the Joint Palestine Appeal. He established the Shirene Home apartments for elderly people at Herzliyyah, Israel. Cohen was knighted in 1969 and retired in 1970.
bibliography:
S. Aris Jews in Business (1970), index. add. bibliography: M. Corina, Pile It High, Sell It Cheap: The Authorised Biography of Sir Jack Cohen (1971); D. Powell, Counter Revolution: The Tesco Story (1991); dbb, I, 724–29; odnb online.