Tesco’s new chief executive today said the supermarket would put the customer and their experience ahead of its profits.
Dave Lewis’ words came as the multichannel retailer looks to restore its reputation amongst investors and customers alike. The supermarket, hit earlier in the year when it emerged that profit expectations had been over-stated, today warned its profits in the year to February 2015 would be no greater than £1.4bn. Previously, they had been expected to come in at more than £2bn.
Today Lewis said: “Tesco is focused, and will continue to focus, on doing the right thing for customers. This means running our business in a way that everything we do creates sustainable value. Whilst the steps we are taking to achieve this are impacting short-term profitability, they are essential to restoring the health of our business. We will not engage in short-term actions that compromise in any way our offer for customers.
“We still have much to do but are making good progress in developing our plans to improve the long-term positioning of the group and I will share more of that on the 8th January. Our priorities remain restoring competitiveness in the UK, protecting and strengthening the balance sheet and rebuilding trust and transparency. For now, all the Tesco team is focused on delivering the best Christmas for customers.”
Tesco was a pioneer in selling groceries online, and in recent years has firmly put the emphasis on a joined-up approach to selling across channels.
