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Tesco Giraffe

Cull of Tesco directors continues apace with departure of Giraffe & Harris + Hoole chief

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By John Glenday, Reporter

March 9, 2015 | 2 min read

A rout of Tesco management spearheaded by chief executive Dave Lewis is continuing apace with Michael Holmes, head of the retailer’s in-store restaurants and coffee shops, heading for the exit door.

Holmes headed up Tesco’s branded food experiences; including restaurant chain Giraffe, Harris + Hoole coffee shops and Euphorium bakeries. These were the brainchild of Tesco’s previous boss Philip Clarke who had been attempting to diversify Tesco’s offer to draw more custom.

The gamble failed however with Harris + Hoole alone losing £13m in the year to February 2014.

Lewis is ready to wield the axe to as many as 10,000 employees in an effort to streamline management and close loss making stores, trimming around £250m of expenses each year and allowing it to focus on its core business.

In recent months Tesco has seen its chairman and finance director replaced with four other executives pushed out in the wake of a £263m accounting scandal. Lewis has also axed the posts of chief creative officer and group business planning and strategy director.

Clarke was ousted last July after presiding over the most precipitous decline in sales seen at the retailer in 40 years as it was undercut by discount rivals Aldi and Lidl.

Tesco Giraffe

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