Former Tesco exec takes over as boss of Morrisons supermarkets
MORRISONS has named former Tesco executive David Potts as its new chief executive, completing the recruitment of a triumvirate of ex-Tesco men to restore growth at the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket.
Potts was Tesco’s longest serving director after beginning his career as a shelf stacker in 1973 and rising to become head of its Asian business. He left in 2012, just months after Tesco’s ex-finance director Andy Higginson, who joined Morrisons as chair last year.
When announcing former boss Dalton Philips’ resignation last month, Higginson stressed that the board would be looking for someone with good experience and that, given the tough environment, “it was not a job for people with L-plates”.
On his appointment yesterday, Potts said: “Customers and Morrisons are a great combination to serve. This is a great British business with real potential and it is an honour to have been selected.”
Morrisons’ sales were down 3.1 per cent over Christmas as customers defected to rival discounters.