Former Tesco Ireland chief executive Tony Keohane has said that he believes the retailer did not respond quickly enough to the impact of the economic crash back in 2008.
In an interview in the Sunday Independent, Keohane said that Tesco "thought we'd get out of [the downturn] very quickly", adding that it saw the situation as being "serious, but not long-term. Perhaps the company was both distracted and consoled by that."
On Tesco's response to the crash, he told the paper, "Did we realise what we were seeing and did we respond quickly enough? The answer would be no, because we thought it was a V-shaped recession."
Keohane served as Tesco Ireland chief executive from March 2006 to July 2013, and as chairman from July 2013 to July 2015. He has since taken on a number of roles, including retail technology startup MarketHub.
He said that he is "particularly proud" of the efforts made by Tesco to build its links with Irish suppliers during his tenure.
He also noted that he has remained a 'loyal Tesco shopper' despite leaving the business. "I'm a life-long Tesco shopper," he told the paper. "I'm still a fan though I'm no longer in the business. No-one else lured me away."
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
