Oh to be a fly on the wall at Tesco's recent company conference. 3,000 of the group's senior executives travelled from as far away as Korea, China, and the Czech Republic to attend the bi-annual event at the Excel Centre in east London last Monday (29 Oct). Rumour has it that top head hunters in London were over-excited at the thought on so much retail talent under one roof.
The gathering was organised by Alison Horner, group personnel director, who said one of the main topics of discussion was the importance of the ‘digital revolution’. The group was one of the first retailers to trial virtual stores with its scheme in Korean train stations last year, and Horner highlighted the importance of social media to the business.
Aside from driving virtual and online sales, technology has helped to better connect the international arms of the group, Horner said in her blog post 'Talking Shop' on the Tesco website.
Despite some recent glitches, Europe's second-largest retailer is still one of the world's greatest performing retail groups on a whole range of criteria, not least in profitability. In its home market, Tesco suffers from a disease called 'envy', or as it's known in footballing terms, 'anybody but Manchester United'. The top-dog usually bears the brunt of criticism. (6 Oct)
© 2012 - ESM: European Supermarket Magazine
