Amazon Hires Tesco Veteran To Run Bricks & Mortar Stores
Amazon has hired long-serving Tesco executive Tony Hoggett to run its physical stores as it expands further into the grocery sector.
Hoggett started his career at Tesco as a 16-year-old trolley boy. Over three decades he rose to become CEO Asia and then Group Chief Operating Officer, before starting his latest role in April this year as Group Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer.
He will join Amazon in January 2022 as Senior VP of Physical Stores, reporting to Dave Clark, Chief Executive of its worldwide consumer business.
“It was a big decision to move on from Tesco but after meeting members of the Amazon leadership team and hearing the ambitions for the business and physical stores, I know it’s a journey and an opportunity that I want to be part of,” said Hoggett, who will work from the online retailer’s headquarters in Seattle.
The move comes amid recent speculation that Amazon may enter the race to acquire Morrisons, with who it has a product supply agreement.
Amazon launched its first physical grocery store outside of the US in London earlier this year. The stores feature cutting-edge sensor and camera technology that allows shoppers to simply place items in their bag and then be automatically billed when they leave. The fifth Amazon Fresh outlet in the UK opened last month, with the retailer reaffirming at the time that it was planning further openings in the greater London area.
In a note informing staff that Hoggett was leaving the business, Tesco’s Chief Executive Ken Murphy praised his “incredibly valuable contribution” and said that succession planning would begin in due course.
Comments
Post a Comment