It is worth remembering the scale of the challenge Dave Lewis faced when he took over the reins at Tesco this time last year.

When making any assessment of Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis’s first year in charge, it is worth remembering the scale of the challenge he faced when he took the reins this time last year.

Parachuted into the business a month early, Lewis found the UK’s largest retailer in the midst of one of the most high-profile corporate meltdowns in recent history.

Beset by financial scandal and strategic malaise, with a culture defined by a deep distrust between the retailing giant and its suppliers, investors, employees and customers, Lewis was forced to prove his mettle from the outset.

Lewis’s CV thus far has been about restoring a sense of purpose to this retailing institution. By quickly “calling the bottom” he has stemmed the flow of bad news, which was chipping away at the soul of the business.

He has then gone about reshaping his management team, rebuilding supplier relations, cutting capital expenditure, refocusing efforts on the core business and drastically reviewing the store portfolio.

Some grumbles aside about the speed with which he has sold off non-core assets such as Dunnhumby and the South Korean business, the effect has been a very conscious reestablishment of pace and direction back into the Tesco business.

What Lewis’s recovery has thus far lacked is a vision – or at least the explicit articulation of one – for where that direction eventually takes Tesco.

“As year two begins, enough of the heavy lifting appears to be done to allow Lewis to paint his picture of Tesco’s future”

Chris Brook-Carter

Retail veteran Archie Norman, himself no stranger to grocery turnarounds, has in the past referred to the importance of “time and place”, the sense of doing the right thing, at the right time and in the right place in order to bring people with you.

To bemoan Lewis’s failure to set out a vision or explicitly forge a new culture misunderstands the importance of repairing the fundamentals first.

To paraphrase Norman again, a vision will be short lived if it is wrapped up in economic instability and mistrust.

As year two begins, enough of the heavy lifting appears to be done to allow Lewis to paint his picture of Tesco’s future.

Stakeholders will be eager to understand where their trust in Lewis is taking them, and a clear and exciting vision will be integral in galvanising shareholders, employees and, most importantly, customers through some of the inevitably tough times ahead.

All change at Asos

As one chief executive continues to rebuild a British institution, another steps down after 15 extraordinary years. While he has not had it all his own way in the past two years, Nick Robertson’s tenure at Asos is a reminder of the power of vision and the entrepreneurial spirit in retail.

But his legacy will be far greater than creating a business worth more than £2 billion from scratch. By harnessing new technologies, creating a digital powerhouse, and staying true to his vision, Robertson fundamentally changed the fashion business.

And while the challenges may be different to when Robertson started, his right-hand man Nick Beighton looks set to build on the success they have already achieved.