The Retirement of Terry Leahy's from Tesco Case Study - 1

The Retirement of Terry Leahy's from Tesco - Case Study Example The departure of a chief executive from any company attracts huge expectations in as far as changes in management are concerned as suggested by Toni and Tonchia (p947). The change can positive or even unsetting one depending on the leaving chief executive influence. The retired chief executive officer of Tesco spent his career developing the organization to be the biggest grocer in Britain. However, his successor Phillip Clarke will face the challenge of either maintaining the position or breaking the company. The retailer has a wide range of products ranging from food to furniture as well as mortgages and motor scooters. It has several outlets including its headquarters in Cheshunt and its branches in China. Tesco customers include buyers of high-quality goods and low-cost goods while stores range from mega-stores to corner shops. One of the major changes that have been encountered by the retailer since the retirement of Leahy is financial management. Since the set up of a joint ven ture with Royal bank which was done Leahy’s predecessor, Tesco has been offering financial services. According to Anon (69), this section has rapidly grown offering services such as loans, insurance, and credit cards. One of the financial changes includes the now fully owned Tesco Bank which is aiming at becoming a great competitor to other banks. So far Tesco is selling its financial products to almost six million customers. Last year, the retailer launched a range of mortgages and savings account while in the current year Tesco is planning to launch a current account. The retail organization also intends to capitalize the discontent of customers through their current jobs. A focus by Liz Hartley who is principal consultant indicates that Tesco Bank will be among the top ten best banks in the country within the next five years. However, the growth of the bank is likely to cause more changes in the organization since banks are valued in a very different way compared to a retailer.