Tesco boss Dave Lewis leadership changes could see the grocer turn around on its difficulties with branding and the customer.

From parachuting into the business early following a profit warning to launching an investigation and suspending key members of his senior team on the back of a financial scandal, Tesco boss Dave Lewis has shown himself adept at creating a sense of urgency.

And so it was again this week when he unveiled a raft of changes to his leadership team, including taking the reins himself of the key UK business.

Inevitably, the decision to temporarily take responsibility for the UK is the most eye-catching moment in the reshuffle. On the one hand it speaks to the fact that there can be no Tesco turnaround without a UK turnaround, with the domestic operation being the powerhouse of Tesco’s overall profits.

And while Lewis has always admitted to his lack of store experience, the skills for which he was hired in the first place – branding, the customer and the ability to think differently – are most needed in the home market.

The move may well point to a time, in a new streamlined Tesco, when separate roles for the chief executive of the group and the UK no longer make sense. However, his predecessor Phil Clarke seemed at times overwhelmed when he held both posts, with a series of global fires erupting as fast as he could put them out.

Building the right leadership team underneath him was always going to be one of the first challenges Lewis had to meet. Key roles for the likes of Benny Higgins, Jill Easterbrook, Jason Tarry and Robin Terrell are a reminder of the retail talent that still resides in the business, while taking temporary control of the UK himself, rather than filling the role now, signals he is prepared and recognises the need to bolster that leadership pool from outside.

Lewis is also staying true to his promise of simplifying the business by eliminating the need for roles such as chief creative officer.

Such changes are a significant step forward for Lewis, and will hopefully mean he can start the new year on the right footing. For now though, the focus will be on Christmas trading, and a renewed sense of purpose in the business can only be a good thing.

Business rates review victory

The news Chancellor George Osborne is to launch a review into the structure of business rates is cause for early festive cheer for the retail industry.

It is also a well-earned, if belated, reward to all those that have campaigned so hard over the last few years for change to an archaic system that stymies the sector’s growth.

With a general election looming, the industry must now push this advantage forward hard, continue to raise the noise levels around reform and remind policy makers that a retail industry unimpeded by out of date government policy can lead a sustained UK economic recovery.

  • Chris Brook-Carter, Editor-in-chief