“Dear colleagues”: Dave Lewis’ letter to Tesco staff on his first day as chief executive
On his first day at Tesco, new chief executive Dave Lewis has written a letter to staff outlining his initial plans for the supermarket.
Lewis introduced himself to Tesco’s more than half-a-million staff, telling them he would be doing “a lot of listening,” to staff, customers, shareholders and investment analysts, and the most important thing was to “focus on being on top of our game.”
In the letter reproduced by the Grocer, Lewis said the biggest focus was on customer service: "She or he will reward us if we constantly put them first.”
He also revealed he would be looking at all parts of the business with “some urgent issues to deal with”, however this would be “in a way consistent with building a long-term sustainable future.”
He called upon staff to support him in “challenging times” saying the UK’s biggest supermarket would “emerge stronger.”
In his first interview at the top, he told the Evening Standard today:
“I needed to find out for myself whether I can lead a whole business. Some people think that is crazy given some of the jobs I have done but actually I don’t think you know whether you can truly lead a business until you sit in that seat… the bit that is interesting is that I have never run a shop in my life. Phil Clarke is a great retailer. The issue for Tesco is, is that what they need now? Because great retailing in that seat hasn’t been the thing that has worked, so they do need a fresh perspective.”