According to a worldwide study by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, the accountants and business advisers, Britain’s biggest grocer has been overtaken by Metro, of Germany, best known in Britain as the owner of Makro, the cash-and-carry store.

The report, containing this information, also confirms that, although the world’s biggest retailers have all increased their sales in the past year, two thirds suffered a hit to profits, sacrificing margins to ensure that customers kept spending.

The news comes a day before Tesco is to update the City on trading in the crucial Christmas period. It is tipped to report like-for-like sales growth of about 3 per cent for its UK business for the six weeks to January 9. Some analysts are pressing for it to explain how an extra £100 million of vouchers for its Clubcard loyalty scheme, which were sent to members before Christmas, affected sales.  Many Store Management teams would be able to answer this question pointing to the savings (averaging 17k per store) made on recruitment of temps – which left customers complaining about poor service and Managers and staff working ridiculous hours UNPAID or for time back (which never happens)

Terry & David really are losing their grip on this Chain

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Tesco forums (official and underground) are alive with seperate reports of this email ( we have had 4 reports) and similar emails from other Stores Directors, we have a copy of this particular Stores Directors  email and are currently confirming the email headers to ensure authenticity before releasing more details . . . . . .

More to follow……………

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Most interestly is the continued refusal to put the work onto the PID workload screen – this allows H/O and the Store Manager to ascertain if and when the task has been completed. . . . and as previously refferred to , this screen produces the Due Diligence legal paperwork, this means that there will be absolutely no papertrail for this entire activity!

The usual series of messages have been coming down via the SM’s Email system and the Compliance managers “Workplan”,  perhaps the biggest message that the SM’s should send back is the adage “Proper Preparation Prevents Piss-Poor Performance” – Increasinging centralisation (stores cannot even order their own stock any more!) and the obvious out-of-touch teams within the ivory towers at Cheshunt, truly show that Tesco is an arrogant, task focussed retailer, struggling to maintain its performance.  We can only hope that the press now begins to report properly on some of the dubious tactics employed by TESCO…………

Some Price Examples:

“Tesco claimed yesterday to be freezing the price of Fairy non-biological at £4.50 as part of a “£12 million VAT freeze” on thousands of products. However the data shows that the non-biological washing powder was selling for £4 in October!”

“Tesco (this month) increased 500 prices in bedding, cooking equipment, crockery and other items that are subject to VAT by similar amounts.”

“Tesco  increased the price of 1,577 popular items – some 6.3 per cent of its range – in December.”

“Britain’s biggest supermarket Tesco has said it will increase VAT on fuel,”

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Imagine being a Compliance Manager (the manager responsible for the legality and pricing in stores) this week…….  As always, Tesco have managed to completely muddy the waters with how they intend to deal with the VAT increase. Sainsburies have been transparent and told us what would be increasing and what would not . . . .  ASDA have announced that all their relevant goods would be repriced immediately (extra investment and planning has been made available to achieve this) , compare this with Tesco:

“Tesco said it would freeze VAT at 15 per cent on ‘thousands of products’ to deliver £12million of savings. But prices will rise for many other products.

Richard Brasher of Tesco said: ‘The VAT reduction was a welcome relief for millions of shoppers and helped many continue to treat themselves over Christmas. We want to extend this help into the New Year and hope consumers will feel able to bag a bargain and get 2010 off to a great start.’  “

So thats clear then!  Somethings will be increased, some won’t – we just are not going to tell you!!!  And this does not just apply to the shoppers,  Compliance Managers are still unaware of the changes which they will be responsible for implementing, no indication of the workload OR when it will be actioned!  Factor-in the usual lack of investment for the task and we can expect to see the usual chaos.  SO  as  always, make sure you check your reciept should you dare to shop at Tesco’s !!

“  The UK’s biggest retailer said the move would save customers £12m, although it said the duration of the freeze would vary between individual lines and it did not specify how long it would last.”

UPDATE:

Tesco have now admitted that prices will be different in different stores, dependant on demographics and format . . . . .   This is surely proof that this is a marketing gimmick, are Tesco shoppers really happy that they may be paying more than Tesco shoppers who simply live elsewhere?

Of Course  Tesco Extra Shoppers  have been contantly assured of the “VAT PRICE FREEZE” on the Promotional aisle immediately at  Xmas – as visible on all the Point Of Sale….  which was good of Tesco – the VAT doesn’t increase until New Year anyway!!!

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For a company whom spends so much money on “living the Values” and paying lipservice to a “work-life balance”, it seems that all this can be ignored when the companies market share is in severe danger.  Most stores have not been able to recruit the “Xmas Temps” on which the store normally operate at this time – this increases the pressureon the staff and managers – with reports of Duty / Line Managers working 12 hour days (only paid for the 36.5 which is almost unheard of for a Manager to work!) with almost all managers being required to work all week without an actual day off.

Reports are also coming in of some stores (which are open Boxing and New Years Day) actively forcing managers to work – one report – verified by two managers, tells of how the Store Manager simply going round the room alternating between Boxing Day and New Years Day – giving the Managers no choice but to work one of them.

The pressures on the staff are apparent within the Tesco stores – Tesco seems to think that by having a “fun” calendar (events to dress up in etc) that staff & managers will ignore the “sweatshop style” environment and the directive management style from the Store Managers – the inevitable visit from the Stores Directors et al simply adding to the pressure . . . . . .   So if you do actually choose to shop in Tescos this year……. spare a thought for the workers and managers……..Maybe one day – the powers that be which sit in the Ivory Towers of Cheshunt will actually realise that the reason that Tescos are not seen as “warm and friendly” in comparison to the competitors is simply that they cannot be!  This is  relative to the actual number of staff on the shopfloor………………………..locking offices is not the answer – more managers is not the answer – more staff – properly trained is the answer…. but then – that would cost money – better to get some more consultants to simply tell us th be warm and friendly as we do the jobs of 2 or more people!

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Personel Managers may hold the key to blowing the sharp practices, present in most Tesco Stores wide open.  Among the most interesting are the changes in Managers reviews,  all of a sudden more and more managers are recieving Red or Amber reviews, this results in the managers concerned, not recieving the full pay increase.  Which matches perfectly Tescos usually underhanded methods – they can announce the pay increases, in the knowledge that unfair reviews will ensure that many managers will not recieve them.

Tesco’s own policy is to offer support as soon as anything other than a green review is recieved…..this should include day to day coaching, constant feedback and clear, tangible targets.  We know that this is not happening but would love to hear from Personel Managers with some more clear examples.

Additionally, only Senior Team managers with Green reviews are eligible for applying for the Deputy positions, effectively ensuring Tescos have already picked many of the Deputies, and condemming some senior team, who have recieved a amber or red (some whom have never got anything but a green before, and were shocked to get anything else!) in their last review, to a 10K pay decrease and forcing them to step down or move to the express format.

Yet still the mainstream media refuses to acknowledge this whole affair……  proof that money really does talk!!

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Date: Friday 3rd July

Time:9.00 – 10.30am

Venue: SECC, Exhibition Way, Finnieston, Glasgow, G3 8YW, next to main entrance (East doors)

In a first for a British trade union, Unite the union, will table a resolution (see notes to editors) at Tesco’s AGM. The resolution calls for action to end the exploitation and discrimination of workers employed by companies in the UK and Ireland that supply meat to Tesco.

Unite protestors will be out in full force brandishing flags and placards to ensure shareholders hear the voice of workers employed by companies that supply meat to Tesco stores. Unite members with shares in Tesco will also question Terry Leahy from the floor of the AGM.

Unite believes the issues highlighted by the resolution represent a systematic failure by Tesco either to anticipate or properly manage its exposure to brand, reputational and political risks.

The resolution is part of an ongoing campaign by Unite to improve the treatment of workers, including agency workers, in the UK supermarket supply chain.

The union has presented Tesco with evidence that some workers in its UK supply chain are experiencing harsh and divisive conditions that, in some cases, are abusive. So far Tesco has failed to act.

Unite believes that structural discrimination exists in many parts of the supply chain that provides meat to Tesco with agency workers, overwhelmingly migrant, on poorer conditions of employment, undercutting indigenous workers. That divides workplaces, Unite says, and damages community social cohesion.

The requisition of the resolution was endorsed by the West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF) which holds 15,584,965 shares in Tesco. WYPF is one of the UK’s leading local authority pension funds and has over 211,000 members and beneficiaries, employed by 184 separate organisations, with assets of £7,271 million as at March 2008.

PIRC (Pensions Investments Research Council) has recommended to its clients that they support Unite’s resolution. The value of the assets advised by PIRC are circa £1.5 trillion. PIRC provides services to institutional investors on corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. PIRC has a wide spectrum of clients ranging from pension funds, faith-based investors, trade unions to banks and asset managers. Its Corporate Governance Service is an authoritative and vital resource for active investors.

The resolution is also supported by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union, which represents 1.3 million members in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

As an indication of the seriousness of Unite’s claims, the powerful Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is conducting its first statutory inquiry into the UK’s multi-billion pound meat industry in England and Wales for evidence of employment abuse and discrimination.

Unite deputy general secretary, Jack Dromey, said: “Unite will be outside the Tesco AGM protesting, but we’ll also be inside the AGM calling for action. This is a first for a British union. Our resolution will be heard no matter what.

“The exploitation of migrant agency workers – and undercutting of indigenous workers – divides workplaces, damages community social cohesion and fuels racism. We have organised all workers around fair and equal treatment of all workers. Now we take their cause to the AGM of Tesco shareholders, holding Terry Leahy to account.

“Tesco, with Unite, jointly commissioned an independent report proving a two-tier labour market in their supply chain. The company then walked away from the table. We tried and failed to engage. The company is not interested. Now, the evidence of structural discrimination is so strong that the independent EHRC is conducting its first statutory inquiry.

“Tesco leads in size but lags behind competitor supermarkets which are accepting their responsibilities. The meat industry will forever be scarred by exploitation, undercutting and discrimination if the dominant player washes its hands of responsibility.”

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Applications for this year’s schemes, starting in September, closed in December last year. They proved very popular with the graduate sector as 16,000 applications were received for the 100 places.

Tesco is keen to take on graduates, as the firm recognises the assets they bring to the corporation, and how the tough economic situation affects university leavers.  However  Store Staff and Managers are left incredulous, with the announcement,  stores are being tasked more and more to meet their almost impossible wage budgets, Customer assistants are placed under more and more pressure to deliver in environments with decreasing morale,  line managers are now left in no doubts that they will not recieve good reviews if they do not stay additional hours, as this is the message being given by the Operations Directors – Store Directors – Store Managers – Line Managers (article to follow with recording of a actual Store Managers conference call!)

Tescos is seen as a timebomb by some experts,  putting more and more pressure onto Stores and distribution, whilst those in their ivory towers fiddle with their numbers, targetting, forecasting and take critical responsibilities away from the managers in-store.  The centralisation of the company is nearing completion and experts are now predicting that the ‘brain drain’ seen so far at Director level will soon filter to Store Managers & Line Managers as they realise that they are no longer able to actually ‘manage’  – they are simply there to do the Mighty Head Offices orders.

And whilst the might of Tesco seems to be containing the bad news due to the meekness of  the British press,  The future of Tesco as market leader is certainly in doubt.

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Trade union Unite has tabled a resolution accusing the supermarket of not preventing “harsh and divisive” conditions at its suppliers that in some cases, it claims ”verge on abuse”. It said it provided Tesco with evidence of these conditions but that the retailer has failed to act.

The resolution is being supported by a shareholder group, PIRC, and by one of Tesco’s larger institutional investors, the West Yorkshire Pension Fund.

Unite believes structural discrimination exists in many parts of the supply chain that provides meat to Tesco. It says agency workers, overwhelmingly migrants on poorer conditions of employment, are undercutting indigenous workers. It claims that there is a “mismatch” between Tesco’s policy commitments to supply-chain staff and the way they are applied in practice.

Shareholders will vote on whether to allocate a non-executive board member to share accountability for upholding basic human rights and international rights at work. The resolution also calls for Tesco to provide support for its meat suppliers to ensure equal treatment of workers and pick up the bill for the changes. But in its supporting statement, Unite said that this proposal “would not increase costs substantially” and said that use of agency workers was currently “inefficient”.

When contacted , Tesco denied it had been given evidence of worker exploitation. A spokesman said: “Our guidelines for suppliers go beyond the legal requirements and ensure that all workers are treated fairly and without discrimination.” The supermarket’s board has recommended shareholders to vote against the motion, meaning it has much less chance of success.

But Jack Dromey, Unite’s deputy general secretary, said: “The exploitation of migrant agency workers and undercutting of indigenous workers divides workplaces, damages community social cohesion and fuels racism.

“Tesco with Unite jointly commissioned an independent report proving a two-tier labour market in their supply chain. They then walked away from the table. We tried and failed to engage. Now, the evidence of structural discrimination is so strong that the independent EHRC is conducting its first statutory inquiry.”

The meat industry has been a particular focus for campaigners on the rights of migrant workers. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is currently conducting a statutory inquiry into the UK’s multi-billion pound meat industry in England and Wales for evidence of employment abuse and discrimination.

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In a series of reports the UNI union, which is based in Switzerland, makes allegations about the firm’s behaviour in Thailand, South Korea and the US.

It accuses Tesco of firing workers who wanted to form a union and making employees work 24-hour shifts.

Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket, said the allegations were a “travesty” and “misrepresent the truth”.

UNI claims that Tesco:

• required employees in Thailand to work 24-hour shifts which was “shocking”, fired employees who applied to form a trade union and was guilty of systematic and deliberate breaches of health and safety

• forced employees in South Korea to work up to 20 hours a week on unpaid overtime and made the leaders of a company union resign for settling a long-running labour dispute

• employed only part-time workers in the US, thereby preventing employees from earning a living wage, and rejected a legitimate recognition request to form a union in one California store.

At a news conference in London, Phil Bowyer, deputy general secretary of UNI, urged Tesco to begin discussions to address the problems highlighted: “We ask Tesco to take these reports seriously and take remedial action.”

He said that previous attempts to raise concerns with the company’s British headquarters had been rebuffed, with Tesco claiming the issues should be answered by management in the local countries.

He called on Tesco to admit whether or not it wanted to do business with unions. “If you don’t want to deal with trade unions, say it. We then have ways of dealing with you,” he said.

‘Politically motivated’

Tesco denied it was anti-union and claimed all its staff were free to join trade unions.

It attacked the reports as politically motivated and said they had been produced by a union trying to recruit more members.

“The reports are a travesty and misrepresent the truth,” said a Tesco spokesman in the UK.

“UNI are using a standard tack of going to far off places, producing reports which are very difficult for people in the UK to check. We do check these matters and can tell you that the allegations are untrue.”

It added it had productive relationships with unions in a number of countries, including Usdaw in the UK and Solidarity in Poland.

The union also released a copy of a letter Barack Obama wrote to Tesco’s chief executive Sir Terry Leahy, pleading with the company to begin talks with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) in the US.

In the letter, written last June while he was campaigning for the presidency, Mr Obama criticised the company, which trades in the US as Fresh & Easy, for not meeting with union officials.

“I again urge you to reconsider your policy of non-engagement in the United States and advise your executives at Fresh & Easy to meet with the UFCW and other community groups at the earliest opportunity,” he wrote.

Tesco said Sir Terry replied that it was the company’s intention to run a good business in the US , and he pledged to observe the guidelines relating to union membership set down in US legislation.

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