Global retail is a force for good
Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy this week urged governments to ignore the anti-globalisation lobby, saying that the increasingly global retail sector was a force for good.

He told the inaugural World Retail Congress in Barcelona that the expansion of organized retail around the globe was generating vital wealth in poorer parts of the world. 'We have to look out for those who look for any convenient excuse to attack business' he said.

He also identified what he described as 'green consumption' as the fastest growing issue in retail today. He said it was not just about retailers reducing their own carbon footprints, but even more importantly helping customers reduce their own.

He defended the role of major retailers in protecting the environment. 'Scale and size can be a force for good. We'll be able to make an impact a corner shop could never make.'