Philip Clarke has been Tesco chief executive since March 2011. (Photo Credit: Tesco/FIS)

Tesco will replace its current CEO to start new phase

Supermarket giant Tesco is to replace chief executive Philip Clarke with a turnaround specialist from Unilever in an attempt to avoid missing profits.

This announcement was made by Chairman Richard Broadbent, who considered it was now time to hand over to a new leader "with fresh perspectives and a new profile," Reuters reported.

Credited with revamping a succession of businesses at consumer goods group Unilever, Dave Lewis is to succeed the current CEO on 1 October but Tesco said Clarke would be available until the end of January to help with the transition, AFP informed.

"Having taken the business through the huge challenges of the last few years, I think this is the right moment to hand over responsibility and I am delighted that Dave Lewis has agreed to join us," said Clarke, who has been chief executive since March 2011.

And he added: "Dave has worked with Tesco directly or indirectly over many years and is well-known within the business. I will do everything in my power to support him in taking the company forward through the next stage of its journey."

According to analysts a material change in UK trading strategy is likely to have considerable implications for the rest of the British sector.

Recently, the retailer has been affected by discounters Aldi and Lidl at one end and upmarket grocers such as Waitrose at the other, and hurt by the slowest growth in the overall UK grocery sector for over a decade.

Clarke, who started at Tesco as a teenager stacking shelves in a store managed by his father, fought back with a wide-ranging plan including trimming prices, revamping stores and product ranges and investing in internet shopping and technology such as the Hudl tablet. But the firm's market share and share price have continued to decline.

Tesco's market share dropped to 28.9 per cent in June from 30.7 per cent when Clarke took over in March 2011. During the same period, Aldi grew to 4.7 per cent from 2.1 per cent and Lidl to 3.6 per cent from 2.5 percent, while Sainsbury's and Wal-Mart's Asda - Tesco's main rivals - remained largely stable.
 

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