Sir Terry Leahy is to take on the role of chairman at value retailer B&M Bargains, his first retail role since stepping down from Tesco. Having spent all his retail career at Tesco, here are his career highlights.
- Joined Tesco in 1979 as marketing executive, after previously being rejected for a job at the grocer
- With responsibility for marketing, Leahy helped craft the “Every Little Helps” strapline, a move which pulled in 1.3 million new customers between 1993 and 1995
- Developed Clubcard, Tesco’s loyalty programme, which was a key factor in Tesco’s growth
- Led the market with the launch of new formats such as Express and Extra, a move which most other grocers copied
- Diversified the Tesco brand into many other areas such as Tesco Bank
- Led the market with the launch of a non-food arm, a move which most other grocers copied
- Led the market with online development, launching Tesco.com in 2000
- Built Tesco into a global company – it now has stores across markets including Asia, the US, and Europe
- Transformed Tesco from a supermarket which some shoppers were embarrassed to go into, to become the UK’s biggest grocer, overtaking Sainsbury’s
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