Jason Gardner comments on the supermarket giant

You've probably all seen the slogan somewhere in an office or canteen near you: 'The customer is king' (or if you're in a more PC work environment 'monarch') - accompanied by a picture of a crown or a bedraggled looking lion. For businesses everywhere it's proved a worthy maxim to live by if you want to procure success. For Tesco though it's a dictum that has produced a veritable fountain of gold. 'Hypersensitivity to the customer' is the modern phrasing of the working world motto that has seen Tesco accrue a £1.15 billion profit in the first six months of 2006.

A remarkable achievement considering that Tesco, setting a record as it did so, only broke the billion pound barrier for yearly profit four years ago.

Its growth has given it a confidence unrivalled by other Brit supermarket chains. That confidence has seen Tesco expand its brand worldwide - 60% of Tesco shopfloor space is abroad. And now CEO Sir Terry Leahy feels it's high time to take a slice of American pie.

Tesco won't be challenging the huge hold Wal-Mart has in America but rather aiming its sights at the lucrative 7-11 convenience stores - similar in size to Tesco's own Express stores. And although some multinational grocers have faltered when it comes to applying a homegrown market strategy abroad - Wal-Mart has abandoned attempts to get a foothold in Germany - Sir Terry feels Tesco are set to conquer the world. As he's quoted in The Guardian:

'At a time when others appear to be faltering in their international commitments, Tesco is getting stronger.'

So the juggernaut keeps rolling, but what impact will Tescos have on the rest of Brit business? Companies will obviously look to the economy of scale to pay dividends - the bigger you are the more you can afford to undercut your rivals - a fact Tesco advertises liberally in the price comparisons of products in its aisles.

Bigger it seems is not only better but a necessary strategy to remain in competition. For examples Morrisons have only just announced a return to significant profit margins after purchasing the Safeway chain for £3.3 Billion 2 years ago. And last year in America corporate giants Procter & Gamble bought out Gillette for the trifling sum of $57 billion in a bid to provide enough 'bargaining clout' to rival Wal-Mart.

Is Tesco's success set to last? Some think it was just a combination of an unusually hot British summer and the world cup that accounts for Tesco's huge hike in sales. Whether that's true or not Tesco do seem likely to continue the boom.

Unless, that is, the Competition Commission say different. Tesco meets with them this month as part of an upcoming report that may see the Commission imposing restraints on Tesco's growth in the UK.

Whatever the outcome of the Commissions finding it's unlikely to affect Tesco's pole position in the Supermarket stakes.

But is being the biggest and the best ethically unsound? Not necessarily - surely it's not a matter of how much weight a company has but how it throws that weight around. So Tesco have paid attention to consumer demands for more fair trade products; they've been part of a big business crusade to get the government to put pressure on industry to go green and have introduced 'green' loyalty points for customers who reuse plastic bags.

As the richest man in the world, Bill Gates, has proved the bigger you are the bigger the impact you can have on global issues - Gates has donated billions to fighting Aids and Malaria and assisting education projects. A force for good that has inspired the second richest man in the world, investment guru Warren Buffet, to donate $35 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.

There are no limits to what responsible capitalism can accomplish. But we have to acknowledge that multi nationals now hold as much sway over global events as governments. So if we want a better world we have to have businesses who are increasingly aware of the responsibilities that go along with the power they possess.

That's where we come in. We hold sway over businesses as the customer is still king. We can hold businesses accountable for the level to which they're committed to fair trade, green values or community projects.

It's up to us to teach the likes of Tesco that big can be beautiful.