Only a cynic would suggest the two events were linked, but they do show what a sensitive situation Tesco is in at the moment. All of a sudden, the UK's number one retailer has realised that despite the great numbers it continues to churn out, from an image point of view it is in a spot of bother.
That's why Leahy announced a raft of measures, from improving community consultation to double the amount of packaging brought back to stores for recycling, in a speech to the Work Foundation on Wednesday. That's why he made the rare step of appearing on Newsnight that evening to defend the company. And that's why the same day it pulled out of Deregulate, the lobby group that is campaigning for the scrapping of restrictions on Sunday trading.
Some of Tesco's 10 big ideas are all about catching up in areas where its rivals have stolen a march - for instance, Sainsbury's efforts in the field of getting kids into sport have been far more imaginative and wholehearted than Tesco's.
But nevertheless Tesco should be applauded. It has been slow to recognise the threat posed by concerns over its power and has handed the initiative on a plate to those campaign groups which see it as the biggest threat to society and the environment in the UK today.
Tesco will not assuage these concerns overnight with the measures set out this week. But by coming up with such a comprehensive package of plans, it has at last taken its head out of the sand and begun to tackle its critics head-on.
This morning's news that its bid for Ottakars has been given final clearance by the Competition Commission at least gives a happy ending to a bad week for HMV.
Like-for-like sales at Waterstone's, and particularly HMV, are plummeting in the UK. While this week's decision to ditch Amazon from running the Waterstone's web site is a good strategic move, some direction on where the music business is going is urgently needed.
As for the Ottakars bid, the odds are on HMV coming back with a much reduced offer. While there have been suggestions that WHSmith might come in with a bid of its own, it would be out of character for the cautious Kate Swann. HMV looks like being the only show in town for Ottakars shareholders.
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