Tesco chairman champions customer experience for retail success, after Haggerston store described as 'the worst place on earth' in Tumblr blog
With Tesco’s Haggerston outlet becoming a viral star thanks to a blog describing the Express store as “the worst place on earth” chairman Sir Richard Broadbent has come forward and said retailers “have to be something and stand for something” as “what it means to shop is going to change”.
Speaking with The Sunday Times after the Tumblr page dedicated to the Haggerston store brought unwanted media attention to the retailer’s door, Broadbent said: “The company that provides the best relationship with the customer will win — not through product, but through the best experience.
“The world is moving from people buying things to people wanting experiences. The ones that win are going to be very clear about what they are.”
In his first interview since becoming chairman two years ago, Broadbent said the online blog was an example of the “challenges coming” to retailers as it looks to “compete against the obvious high street rivals – but equally Amazon and eBay.”
Of the Haggerston store, Broadbent commented: “The world is becoming more volatile, things spread much more quickly, the groups that people trust have changed. That is a cultural challenge to us.
“We don’t defend problems, we tackle them. Any organisation has to be much more open, transparent, and responsive. These cultural changes are significant management challenges in themselves.”
Highlights of the Tumblr include images of boxes strewn across the aisles, empty shelves, fridges locked open instead of closed, and teabags beside the tampons.
However, since achieving internet notoriety it seems Tesco has stepped in with one contributor writing on the blog that “there’s been some changes” including a staff member stacking shelves, a new manager, things to but on the shelves, and a buy-one-get-one-free shelf with more than one item on it.