In the news: Groceries Code Adjudicator Christine Tacon profiled

The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) is the latest body to put troubled supermarket Tesco under the spotlight. The independent organisation is launching an investigation into disputes between the grocer and its suppliers relating to delayed payments.

And it is also the first investigation Tacon has launched and she says she has “reasonable suspicion” that the Groceries Supply Code of Practice had been breached.

Bark but no bite?

But critics argue Tacon’s presence is not enough to get supermarkets such as Tesco to change its ways because at the moment the GCA has no powers to fine any grocer guilty of breaking its code – she can only name and shame wrongdoers.

However, Tacon has been lobbying for this to change, she wants to have powers to fine supermarkets up to 1% of their UK revenues if they are caught breaking the code. And this power is currently passing through parliament, with the expectation that she will have the fining power by the end of March.

“We see this inquiry as a process that is as much about the GCA as it is Tesco”

Clive Black, Shore Capital

While the GCA’s powers are being extended, Tacon won’t be able to retrospectively fine grocers, meaning that the investigation under way regarding Tesco is unlikely to result in a fine.

Clive Black, head of research at Shore Capital, says he sees the GCA as a paradox. “On the one hand it is potentially a strong force for good, controlling the worst potential excesses of a highly concentrated retail segment. As such its existence and the powers it has probably help support elements of the supply chain,” he says.

“That said, despite much chatter, to the best of our knowledge no complaints have been upheld or sanctions made by the GCA. In the absence of material fines, which we believe to be the case with respect to September 2014 matters, we see this inquiry as a process that is as much about the GCA as it is Tesco.”

Tacon’s background

Tacon was appointed to the role of GCA in January 2013, following a 12-year career in sales and marketing at FMCG companies such as Mars, Anchor and Vodafone.

A chartered engineer, she worked in zinc die casting for three years before joining Mars where she worked in production planning for 18 months before moving into marketing.

She worked on one of the bids for the National Lottery with Vodafone, before becoming marketing director at brick manufacturer Redland Brick. She rekindled her career in food at dairy brand Anchor, where she was marketing and then also sales director.

She is also credited with transforming The Co-operative Group’s farming business from a £6m loss with a £40m turnover in 2000 to a £6m profit with a £65m turnover in 2012. She restructured and removed layers of management and took significant decisions such as exiting dairy farming and expanding into fresh produce packing during her time at the mutual.

And in 2004 she was awarded a CBE for services to agriculture.

Her other current positions include non-executive director of Anglia Farmers farm supply business, non-executive director of Met Office, chair of the BBC Rural Affairs Advisory Committee and a member of DEFRA’s Strategic Regulatory Scrutiny Panel, to name a few.

The GCA works with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and it is understood Tacon earned £69,000 a year in the role and worked three days a week when she was appointed in 2013.