Tesco has hired its first managing director for London to help the group tailor its stores more to the capital’s diversity of affluence and ethnicity.
Andrew Yaxley, who was Tesco’s commercial director for fresh foods, started this week in the newly-created role with his remit covering all the grocer’s 500 stores inside the M25, where it employs 30,000 people.
London is critical for Tesco and it has a higher turnover inside the M25 than its Fresh & Easy business in the US, which the supermarket giant is likely to exit.
The move for Yaxley is the latest reshuffle of Tesco’s top team in the UK, which accounts for more than 60% of group profits and has recently shown a strong rebound after suffering lacklustre trading in recent years.
Philip Clarke, Tesco’s group chief executive, sanctioned a £1 billion investment in its domestic business last year, including adding more staff and sprucing up its stores. He also promoted chief operating officer Chris Bush to UK managing director last month.
Yaxley said: “The customer profile is very different in London and more extreme than the rest of the country. There is a higher proportion of young adults, upmarket customers and a greater ethnic mix.”
Reflecting this, Yaxley said Tesco had recently added more Finest premium ranges to its store in Kensington, as well as increasing its “world and ethnic” food in its Wembley hypermarket and surrounding stores.
