UK retail giant Tesco has suggested it is on the lookout for a successor to its European head Gordon Fryett amid reports he is to retire.
Fryett, who was appointed into the role last December, is reported to be retiring in around a year’s time, according to The Financial Times.
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A spokesperson for Tesco said in response to the reports that early succession planning is “part of good business management”.
“Whenever we recruit for senior leadership roles, it is good practice to benchmark internal talent against the external market.”
Tesco reported a 6.8% fall in European first-half sales earlier this month.
The news follows reports fresh and frozen food commercial director Andrew Yaxley has been promoted to a general management role within the UK.
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By GlobalDataPackaged foods commercial director John Scouler is understood to be taking on a new role which combines heading up fresh and packaged foods from 1 December.
Tesco did not confirm the reports, but said: “At Tesco we place great emphasis on developing our colleagues to ensure we have the best possible pipeline of general management talent for the future. Andrew’s development programme is just one example of this and it happens at every level of the business.”
Reports have suggested Yaxley could be being prepared to become a country chief executive.
