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Tesco boss Dave Lewis in shock departure Tesco boss Dave Lewis in shock departure
(32 minutes later)
Tesco has announced that its chief executive Dave Lewis is stepping down after five years in the role.Tesco has announced that its chief executive Dave Lewis is stepping down after five years in the role.
Mr Lewis said the decision was "personal one" and Tesco chairman John Allan said he had accepted the resignation with "regret". Mr Lewis said the decision was a "personal one", and Tesco chairman John Allan said he had accepted the resignation with "regret".
He will be replaced by Ken Murphy, who has held senior positions at Walgreens Boots Alliance. He will be replaced by Ken Murphy, who has held senior positions at the owner of chemist chain Boots.
His departure was announced as Tesco reported a 6.7% rise in first-half profits to £494m. The departure was announced as Tesco reported a 6.7% rise in first-half profits to £494m.
Mr Lewis said: "I believe the tenure of a chief executive should be a finite one and that now is the right time to pass the the baton. The turnaround is complete, we have delivered all the metrics we set ourselves". Mr Lewis said: "I believe the tenure of a chief executive should be a finite one and that now is the right time to pass the the baton. The turnaround is complete, we have delivered all the metrics we set ourselves."
He took the helm at a tumultuous time for the supermarket group, announcing shortly after he took over in 2014 that the retailer had been overstating its profits.He took the helm at a tumultuous time for the supermarket group, announcing shortly after he took over in 2014 that the retailer had been overstating its profits.
The company subsequently revealed a loss of £6.4bn, the biggest ever suffered by a UK retailerThe company subsequently revealed a loss of £6.4bn, the biggest ever suffered by a UK retailer
Since then Mr Lewis has set about reducing costs, with the latest of round job cuts announced in August when it said 4,500 staff in 153 Tesco Metro stores would lose their roles.Since then Mr Lewis has set about reducing costs, with the latest of round job cuts announced in August when it said 4,500 staff in 153 Tesco Metro stores would lose their roles.
He also tried to take on the discounters, Germany's Aldi and Lidl, by opening Jacks, a discount chain with mixed results. He also took on the discounters Aldi and Lidl by opening Jacks, Tesco's own discount chain.
'Total surprise'
Mr Lewis also orchestrated the 2017 takeover of Booker, the biggest food wholesaler, in a £3.7bn deal to create the "UK's leading food business".
Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that there had been speculation about Mr Lewis' future after that deal as Booker's chief executive Charles Wilson has joined at the time.
"We're all trying to grapple exactly about the timing right now," said Mr Monteyne. His departure now was "a total surprise", he said.
Mr Lewis had joined five years ago "at a very difficult moment", Mr Monteyne said. "Not only had it lost the trust of the customers, losing material market to the discounters, it ended up with an accounting fraud... internal morale broken. He really took over a broken company, and from being the most profitable retailer in Europe, suddenly had losses for the first time ever."