Tesco’s revival relies on getting basics right

Such was the breadth of speculation that graced the UK’s business pages regarding the retailer’s future that every conceivable strategy had been scrutinised and judged.

So confident was one commentator that Retail Week received his prognosis on Clarke’s vision for Tesco’s revival a full 12 hours before he unveiled it.

In the pundits’ defence, Tesco’s travails touched upon so many of retail’s basics - from stores to service, property to product and multichannel to marketing - that predicting a broad direction was relatively easy.

However, the prospect for a successful turnaround is buried in the detail of Clarke’s announcement.

The £1bn investment pledged to improving Tesco’s UK shopping trip is at the top end of expectations and delivers a headline-grabbing statement regarding its commitments.

And news that the retailer’s 16 trial stores - where there has been an increased investment in staff - have delivered an average like-for-like sales improvement of 1.2%, may help win sceptics over.

But it’s Tesco’s focus on six key elements that should make rivals sit up and take note. Investments in service and staff, stores and formats, price and value, range and quality, brand and marketing, and clicks-and-bricks may not deliver enough of a wow factor for Tesco’s critics, but those demanding a more radical approach miss the point.

Clarke’s plan recognises that Tesco’s future lies not in trying to reinvent the art of retail, but in doing the tasks that make a good shopkeeper great that little bit better.

Aquascutum and Burberry

It may be a brand that has graced the corridors of power - dressing the likes of Winston Churchill and Lady Thatcher - but the fall of Aquascutum is a reminder that heritage alone is no roadmap to success.

That news of its demise broke on the same day that rival British luxury brand Burberry posted an 11% rise in fourth-quarter sales was an added, cruel irony.

Burberry has not had it all its own way, as fears grow that the Chinese luxury goods market may be stalling. However, its success has been its ability not only to export its British credentials to Eastern markets, but to leverage its branding and marketing, on and offline, to remain relevant to a modern audience while trading on its history.