Philip Clarke

Philip Clarke

Tesco published its annual report on Tuesday and revealed a six-part plan to create a Better Tesco in the UK with a focus on produce, as well as announcing that CEO Philip Clarke is declining his bonus.

The uppermost part of the six-point plan is Service & Staff, in which Tesco will invest in recruitment, training and equipment and focus in particular on produce, backed by other fresh departments “so that our customers notice the change”.

Stores & Formats is second in the plan, and the retailer hopes to make “our stores better places in which to shop and work”. There will also be a renewed focus on Price & Value using a “blend of price, promotions, couponing and loyalty.”

The retailer also made the pledge to work on Range & Quality and “review and refresh” its entire range of own label. Click & Collect will be rolled out further and the UK’s leading retailer hopes to bounce back from the tough time it has been having with a renewal of interest in Brand & Marketing, “making sure we get back to having the right conversation with our customers about Tesco”.

In recognition of missing performance targets, Clarke decided not to take up the pay bonus he was due. His hand-out would have been almost £400,000 and some City analysts have said it is “the least he could do” given the slump in the company’s share price and the fact it issued its first profit warning since the 1990s in January this year.