Every little helps according to Sir Terry Leahy

HE is arguably one of the most successful British businessman of all time.

Sir Terry Leahy took Tesco further than anyone could have expected and this afternoon, he has revealed a wealth of inspirational knowledge to audiences this at the YIBC, taking place at The Spa, Bridlington.

Leahy became CEO of the supermarket giant in 1997. At the time, Tesco was a resolute market follower of the two leading brands, Marks and Spencer as the then world’s most profitable retailer, and Sainsburys as the world’s most profitable food retailer.

Leahy started to lead the supermarket through to success via customer knowledge and research. Tesco soon stretched its lead as the UK’s largest retailer and also grew internationally.

“You have to find the truth. It is difficult to get an accurate view so speak to customers. We wanted to know how customers see us, what thoughts there were having, what they needed and how the environment was changing.

“The most useful thing to do was speaking to the ordinary customers. If you listen to them about their lives, what is important to them and what is affecting them, you will learn to fix the business. All I had to do was just listen to the customers and follow whatever they wanted and once we did that we never had to go out and find growth.

“Because Tesco is a large organisation, it was hard to get an accurate picture. But if you don’t get an accurate picture, you will never move forward.”

The businessman said he believes there is too much emphasis on financial results, when the most important things are your vision and values.

“We built the entire company about the customer. We motivated, engaged and encouraged our people to contribute by treating them well.We showed how powerful values were.

“We were able to build these internal values into external values and we were going to solve ways of helping others.”

This is where the Tesco slogan “every little helps” was born.

Leahy said it is vital staff feel galvanised and want to succeed and it is important to take risks and take advantage of competitors.

He said: “You have got to do things in ways that are different. You have to find the boundaries of the organisation and move it on. Competition is important in business. I would encourage people to look at the strengths of competitors. That is one of the benefits of your competition. You can learn from them.”

Leahy retired from Tesco in the summer of 2010 and said he believes the future of the retail industry is positive.

He said: “People are very worried about the effect of the economy, the recession, and the growth of ecommerce but I think in the future we will see virtual shops, click and collect stores and people will go into town and shop online, too. There will be a lot of change but a better industry will emerge. We are not going to be able to stop it, as you can’t stop people going online.

“All we can do is use technology, use the assets we have got to make your high street a more attractive place to be.  At the end of the day, people are sociable and will come together.”