Tesco plc, trading as Tesco, is a British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer with headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by profits and ninth-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues. It has stores in seven countries across Asia and Europe and is the grocery market leader in the UK (where it has a market share of around 28.4%), Ireland, Hungary and Thailand. Tesco was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen as a group of market stalls. The Tesco name first appeared in 1924, after Cohen purchased a shipment of tea from T. E. Stockwell and combined those initials with the first two letters of his surname, and the first Tesco store opened in 1931 in Burnt Oak, Barnet. His business expanded rapidly, and by 1939 he had over 100 Tesco stores across the country. Originally a UK grocer, Tesco has diversified geographically since the early 1990s and into areas such as the retailing of books, clothing, electronics, furniture, toys, petrol and software; financial services; telecoms and internet services. The 1990s saw Tesco reposition itself: it moved from being a down-market high-volume low-cost retailer to one which appeals across many social groups, by offering products ranging from its "Tesco Value" items (launched 1993) to its "Tesco Finest" range. This broadening of its appeal was successful, and saw the chain grow from 500 stores in the mid-1990s to 2,500 stores fifteen years later. Tesco is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It had a market capitalization of approximately £18.1 billion as of 22 April 2015, the 28th-largest of any company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange.