Retail

Tesco in the US: Leahy takes the blame

December 5, 2012 10:38 am by Andrew Hill

There is no need to ask who will be to blame if and when Tesco’s US adventure is brought to an end. Sir Terry Leahy, ex-chief executive of the UK retailer, has already admitted it will be him.

The Fresh & Easy venture comes under “Courage” in Sir Terry’s book Management in 10 Words, published earlier this year. In the book, he called the investment in the new brand “a calculated risk” and pointed out that “even if the entire investment ultimately had to be written off, it would not threaten Tesco’s underlying viability”.

He reiterated that he was “certain that Fresh & Easy [would] be a success”, well-placed to benefit from economic tailwinds “thanks largely to the courageous people who stepped forward to turn an ambition into a reality”. Read more

Tags: Phil Clarke, Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco
Posted in Retail | Permalink

Gaga, gadgets and the human touch

November 7, 2012 7:17 pm by Andrew Hill

Troy Carter, Lady Gaga’s manager, says he wants to know “how the fans smell”: he walks the arena during the star’s show to get a sense of how they’re receiving the act. Phil Clarke, chief executive of Tesco, has set in motion a retraining scheme for the UK retailer’s managers called “Making Moments Matter”, preparing them for face-to-face contact with customers.

Yet both men work for organisations (if Gaga can be described that way) that have also pioneered the use of technology – the Little Monsters Gaga fan site, the Tesco loyalty ClubCard – that helps them know their customers and run their businesses more efficiently.

The mixed approach they advocate illustrates a theme that emerged strongly from this week’s FT Innovate conference, where both men spoke: how to put the personal touch back in technology? Or, as Aimie Chapple of Accenture summarised at one roundtable session: how do you add the love to Big Data? Read more

Tags: eBay, innovation, Lady Gaga, Phil Clarke, Philips, Tesco, Troy Carter
Posted in Retail, Technology | Permalink

From FT.com October 8, 2012

FT column: Business lessons from the front line

Jeff Bezos is on a mission to seek out and destroy military metaphors at work. “You ‘target’ your customers,” Amazon’s chief executive told an audience in New York last year. “I’m, like, what? Why would you do that? That doesn’t make any sense.” Read more

Posted in Business, Management, Retail | Permalink

Shell offers service with a sell

July 12, 2012 11:03 am by Andrew Hill

Royal Dutch Shell’s plan to reintroduce attendants to the forecourts of Britain’s petrol stations is bothering me.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favour of better service, but, as everyone knows, such improvements – particularly the personal “shall I check your tyre pressures, madam?” service promised by Shell – cost money. I’ll drink a litre of unleaded if the Shell plan isn’t really based on selling more stuff. Read more

Tags: Royal Dutch Shell
Posted in Business, Energy, Management, Retail | Permalink

Is Amazon the Goldman Sachs of ecommerce?

July 9, 2012 12:38 pm by Andrew Hill

Jeff Bezos is famously smart but I wonder whether he has thought through all the political implications of Amazon’s strategy of becoming back-office ecommerce infrastructure provider to the world.

The first part of FT colleague Barney Jopson’s series on the etailer was full of insight, but it was the comparison between Amazon and investment banks that struck me most forcefully. As Barney writes:

One investment banker says Amazon’s position is reminiscent of Goldman Sachs’ dual role as a broker and trader at the centre of capital markets. “People complain about conflicts of interest. But you still have to do business with them.”

Like Goldman and others, Amazon has set out to simplify the life of its clients, so they can concentrate on what they do best. One business identified by the FT investigation – RJF Books and More – has delegated the “selling, shipping, customer service, payments and complaints” functions to Amazon, which left me wondering what else was left for RJF to do. Simplification was a strong theme of my recent trip to Silicon Valley, where countless start-ups, and a few larger businesses like NetSuite and Salesforce.com, are offering businesses the opportunity to “plug in” their operations to outsourced back-office services and payment systems. Read more

Tags: Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Jeff Bezos, regulation
Posted in Banks, Business, Regulation, Retail, Technology | Permalink

The Walgreens hedgehog uncurls

June 19, 2012 1:21 pm by Andrew Hill

I can’t help thinking that Jesse Boot and Charles R Walgreen Senior were destined to meet eventually. With Tuesday’s deal between the UK’s Alliance Boots and Walgreens of the US, the paths of the two pharmacy chains, each founded more than 100 years ago, finally cross. Boot – son of the original founder John – was said to have a “talent for business”; Walgreen, though he built his business more slowly initially, “instituted a level of service and personal attention unequalled by virtually any other pharmacy in Chicago”, according to the company history. Read more

Tags: Alliance Boots, Walgreens
Posted in Business, Pharmaceuticals, Retail | Permalink

M&S Bank versus Tesco Bank

June 8, 2012 4:41 pm by Andrew Hill

I wonder what Sir Terry Leahy, former chief executive of Tesco, makes of the fanfare about rival UK retailer Marks and Spencer launching a bank with HSBC. According to Marc Bolland, M&S boss, the rationale for putting 50 bank branches inside its stores goes as follows:

This bank will be built on M&S values; putting the customer at the heart of the proposition and delivering the exceptional service that sets us apart from the competition.

Tags: Marc Bolland, Marks and Spencer, Phil Clarke, Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco
Posted in Banks, Business, Retail | Permalink

Why Waterstones is undaunted by Amazon

May 21, 2012 5:25 pm by Andrew Hill

There were some interesting foretastes of Monday’s deal between Amazon and the big UK bookstore chain Waterstones in comments made by the latter’s managing director, James Daunt, at the FT a few weeks ago.

Mr Daunt – who had previously called the etailer a “ruthless, moneymaking devil” – spoke at a roundtable in early May to launch the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award. You can listen to a podcast of his initial interview in which he pointed out that all bookshops had to find ways to make the environment for book-buying attractive again. He added:

The largest of us face the additional challenge of how do we become a relevant part of this new digital world, in which, clearly, a substantial part of the reading that our customers engage in is going to take place.