Retail analysts Bruno Monteyne and Richard J Clarke of Bernstein Research have said that while recent Kantar data shows that Tesco’s recovery in the UK is slowing, this is not a sign that the turnaround plan instigated by new chief executive Dave Lewis is stalling.
“Far from it,” the analysts say in a note issued this morning (15 May). “Evidence points to a new range of targeted, strategic & selected prices cuts bringing the own label price gap on own label vs Aldi from 24% to 11%.
“Dave Lewis has made his board meetings effectively strategy meetings, with the executive board boasting experience from M&S, Dixons, Ikea. Plenty of sources of new ideas if any are needed in the future (although for now Dave is making the right moves).”
Bernstein said that these positive moves indicate that the recovery plan at Tesco is “sustainable”.
They added that “Tesco's new CEO has already delivered much more much faster than any of us would have expected the day he started (1 September). The despair and excessive pessimism from November last year disappeared when Tesco delivered an all-mighty come back during Christmas despite having 8 senior executives suspended during an investigation for accounting irregularities.
“The discussion now rightly is about 'how high can long term margins be in the UK', 'how long will it take' and 'what are the odds of success’.”
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
