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Tesco boss orders senior staff back to the shop floor Tesco boss orders senior staff back to the shop floor
(35 minutes later)
Tesco boss Dave Lewis is sending thousands of head office staff, including senior executives, on to the shop floor as part of a campaign designed to win over disgruntled customers.Tesco boss Dave Lewis is sending thousands of head office staff, including senior executives, on to the shop floor as part of a campaign designed to win over disgruntled customers.
Lewis emailed 4,000 staff on Tuesday asking them to work one day a fortnight in stores in the run up to Christmas in an initiative dubbed Feet on the Floor. Lewis and the new finance director, Alan Stewart, will be among those spending alternate Thursdays and Fridays in stores for the next three months. The idea is an acceleration of Tesco’s annual “helping hands” effort in which head office staff commit to stack shelves or work the tills for two days of the final week before Christmas. Lewis emailed 4,000 staff on Tuesday asking them to work one day a fortnight in stores in the runup to Christmas in an initiative dubbed Feet on the Floor. Lewis and the new finance director, Alan Stewart, will be among those spending alternate Thursdays and Fridays in stores for the next three months. The idea is an acceleration of Tesco’s annual “helping hands” effort in which head office staff commit to stack shelves or work the tills for two days of the final week before Christmas.
Tesco said: “Understanding customers even better is critical to our future success and there is no better opportunity for office colleagues than by supporting our stores in the run-up to Christmas.” Tesco said: “Understanding customers even better is critical to our future success and there is no better opportunity for office colleagues than by supporting our stores in the runup to Christmas.”
The effort reveals that Lewis is still focused on turning around falling sales at Tesco even as it reels from an accounting scandal that unearthed a £250m hole in profits expected for the first six months of the year. Pressure on the company, which has suspended four executives while it investigates the matter, increased on Wednesday when the Financial Conduct Authority said it had launched a full-scale investigation.The effort reveals that Lewis is still focused on turning around falling sales at Tesco even as it reels from an accounting scandal that unearthed a £250m hole in profits expected for the first six months of the year. Pressure on the company, which has suspended four executives while it investigates the matter, increased on Wednesday when the Financial Conduct Authority said it had launched a full-scale investigation.
The scandal comes as Tesco loses shoppers to discount rivals Aldi and Lidl as well as cheaper mainstream rivals such as Asda. Lewis needs to stop the rot ahead of the key Christmas trading period.The scandal comes as Tesco loses shoppers to discount rivals Aldi and Lidl as well as cheaper mainstream rivals such as Asda. Lewis needs to stop the rot ahead of the key Christmas trading period.
The retailer has issued five profit warnings over the last two years as shoppers have fallen out of love with Tesco’s hypermarkets. The stock market value of the group has more than halved over the last year with more than £15bn wiped off its shares as City analysts question Tesco’s ability to bounce back. The supermarket is saddled with a chain of nearly 250 sprawling Extra stores which have fallen out of fashion as Britons shun the big weekly shop. Its market share has dropped from a peak of 31.8% to 28.8%, at last count. The retailer has issued five profit warnings over the past two years as shoppers have fallen out of love with Tesco’s hypermarkets. The stock market value of the group has more than halved over the past year with more than £15bn wiped off its shares as City analysts question Tesco’s ability to bounce back. The supermarket is saddled with a chain of nearly 250 sprawling Extra stores which have fallen out of fashion as Britons shun the big weekly shop. Its market share has dropped from a peak of 31.8% to 28.8%, at last count.
Kantar Retail analyst Bryan Roberts, who makes regular visits to Tesco supermarkets around the country, argues that its housekeeping standards are lower than rivals. “Store managers need to get out of their ivory towers and start walking the shop floor,” he says. “From some of the stores I’ve been to in the last six months you get the impression that the managers are not getting their hands dirty enough.”Kantar Retail analyst Bryan Roberts, who makes regular visits to Tesco supermarkets around the country, argues that its housekeeping standards are lower than rivals. “Store managers need to get out of their ivory towers and start walking the shop floor,” he says. “From some of the stores I’ve been to in the last six months you get the impression that the managers are not getting their hands dirty enough.”
In an email last week, Lewis told staff: “Above all, we must get back to doing our best for customers. Despite everything that has been happening this week we have been making progress, and we’re giving a sharper focus to the service we provide by investing in more hours in stores as we prepare for Christmas.”In an email last week, Lewis told staff: “Above all, we must get back to doing our best for customers. Despite everything that has been happening this week we have been making progress, and we’re giving a sharper focus to the service we provide by investing in more hours in stores as we prepare for Christmas.”