Last business day of the month. Last day of a departing CEO’s corporate reign. Last chance to ‘kitchen sink’ the corporate earnings guidance numbers in the UK’s largest food retailer? A share price back to the level of a decade ago and a 75% cut in the interim dividend does not make pretty headlines.
The news that Alan Stewart was to depart Marks & Spencer (MKS) as it Finance Director saw the next day’s M&S share price increase a little. In the case of Tesco (TSCO) the price was down 1%. Stewart has a tough job to do at Tesco but as one might imagine, logically - and from his new Tesco pay packet - that he is up to the job.
Gary Carp returns with a superb analysis of Tesco's future.
It wasn’t meant to be like this. When Philip Clarke took over as Tesco boss, no one anticipated the pace of structural shift in shopper behaviours that is destabilising retail. Tesco was the most convenient and ambitious UK retailer; it was and still is number one. So why does it feel so dire? The harsh reality is almost every reason underpinning Tesco's last twenty years of success has been turned upside down and inside out. It is hard to see any light at the end of Tesco's tunnel.
Will Tesco (TSCO) axe Clubcard? I know, it is an absurd suggestion. Having spent twenty years building a veritable industry of activity around it, how could Tesco possibly abandon its golden child? Unthinkable.
I am the world's worst golfer. After years of trying to play, the basic problem still haunts me: I stand too close to the ball after I have hit it. My golf bag sits forlornly in the corner, simpering, like a long-lost lover: "you never take me out any more!" she murmurs.
Just imagine. Fast forward fifteen years. Imagine every rule and assumption you currently hold about retailers, manufacturers, brands and own labels being swept aside. This new dawn is fast approaching.
Manchester United's ten month disastrous flirtation with David Moyes is over. To many, he had been a "dead man walking" for months. Despite long-terms critics, like myself, incessantly calling for his head even before he was appointed, the prevailing mood among the faithful had been to tough it out.
The standard analysts’ question “where do we go from here?” is a great one to ask Tesco (TSCO); a share that must serve as part of the foundation of many a portfolio. However, before asking this question there is another that should probably be put first: “where have we been?” On a very long trend of downward valuation, is the flippant answer! However, analysis of the next set of results could provide clues as to whether this down trend can be reversed and Tesco’s shares start to regain some of their former glory.
Tesco's preliminary results yesterday hold few surprises. The 6% fall in annual profits and 1.4% decline in like-for-like sales have been well trailed and the markets may even mark the stock up after recent pressure. The announcement and other news give a much stronger sense of Tesco tomorrow and join dots on previous Cheshunt comments.
Last month I wrote an article about the problems facing UK supermarkets, in particular the competition coming from the discounters like Lidl and Aldi. The big supermarkets don’t see them as a threat because they say their business model is different. Yet when we look at the statistics the big four supermarkets are losing market share. I suspect this is due to a slowdown in consumer spending and as a result consumers are more likely to switch to the discounters.
Tonight, the Jewish festival of Passover commences. It is a festival of contrasts. Freedom and insecurity; enrichment and humility; arriving and departing all combine. Under the leadership of Moses, the Children of Israel move from being a discordant rabble into a people with national and geographic aspirations. But what does this have to do with Tesco (TSCO)?
Yesterday's latest Kantar Worldpanel data brought little comfort for any of the UKs Big four retailers. The 0.4% drop in Sainsburys' (SBRY) share versus last quarter highlights Justin King's personal astuteness in calling time on his own leadership at just the right moment. His touch is almost as measured as was Sir Terry Leahy's departure from Tesco (TSC).
Asda, famous for EDLP (EveryDay Low Prices), launched the latest salvo in the UK grocery retail war; a new strategy called EDMP. Presented as part of a package of 12,000 jobs over the next five years. The underlying message was meant for Tesco (TSCO)...
If you didn’t catch the news yet, Tesco (TSCO) is now the world's 3rd biggest continent. Having bought US big data firm Sociomantic it now has access to a database of one billion shoppers making it almost as big as China or India.
According to The Grocer’s headline yesterday there is "Fury at plans to axe team leader roles" (March 30th) as Tesco (TSCO) are in discussions to remove an entire layer of in-store management. It looks a bold initiative. Yet it might be a straightforward call: if you have to choose, great store service requires action not oversight.
Whitbread PLC (WTB) is a multinational hotel, coffee shop and restaurant company. What does this have to do with Tesco (TSCO)? I’ll explain below.
The West in general and the UK in particular seem to believe that our Imperial pasts provide an eternal right to global leadership. Call it our collective colonialist conscience. So when Western retailers decided to retrace the journeys of our ancestors, we naturally expected them to always succeed. Perhaps.
Tesco’s (TSCO) world tour into Asia, the US, Europe, etc is in full-scale retreat with the Turkish operations’ restructure, the latest acceptance of failure. The non-crisis crisis in Tesco Polska will inevitably lead to divestment. If anyone was in doubt: the world tour is over. Tesco went big; they are now coming home.
Hello Share People: Always remember, gang, that the future means more than the past in life. And it is even more important in Shareland.
Today’s Christmas period trading statement from Tesco (TSCO) was pretty awful and worse than that from Sainsbury’s (SBRY) yesterday.
