UK retailer Tesco has established a large new buying team in a bid to source directly the large majority of the fresh fruit and vegetables it sells through its retail stores in the UK and in continental Europe, Eurofruit Magazine has reported in its April issue.
According to well-placed trade sources, Tesco has contacted suppliers of operations in the UK, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia to outline its new strategy, which will be introduced by a management team headed by Alex Dower and Tim Lee for the UK and continental Europe respectively.
In a short statement sent via email to its UK suppliers, Tesco said the move was intended “to significantly strengthen” its position in fresh fruit and vegetables and to maintain its “senior leadership position” in the fresh produce category.
Tesco, which was unavailable for comment, has assembled a team of at least 20 buyers which will roll out its plans to source produce directly from suppliers all over the world, Eurofruit Magazine has learned. The new strategy will start with key fruit lines such as apples, grapes and citrus.
Darren Clough, who has a background in fresh produce at Tesco, has been appointed to a new role heading up fruit category development, with Nick Tatum taking over as produce store operations director and Alain Guilpain moving from dairy to look after vegetables and organics. Emma Petit and Lisa Knowles take on salads and horticulture.
Although some direct sourcing has already been adopted by UK-based retailers such as Morrisons and Asda, which buys through International Produce, Tesco’s new strategy represents a significant break with the approach of British food retailers.
Market observers say that if Tesco’s move succeeds it will shake up supply chains in the UK and in exporting countries worldwide, which to date have supplied produce to Tesco through its appointed UK category managers.
Tesco’s intention is now to bypass this stage by buying direct from suppliers. The process is already underway for some categories such as table grapes, 65 per cent of which have been handled direct in the past year, according to trade sources close to the company.
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