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Trent's Reid to head parent firm Tesco’s China biz

Written by: Dhawal Shah

Article Overview: MUMBAI: Gordon Reid - the chief operating officer, who oversaw the expansion of Trent’s Star Bazaar retail outlets - is returning to his parent firm Tesco to head its Chinese operations. According to an official Trent release, Mr Reid’s India stint was part of a franchise arrangement with partner Tesco, and he is now moving back. The company said his replacement at Trent will be announced soon. Trent officials that ET spoke to felt that managing director Noel Tata may opt for international expertise until Star Bazaar strengthens its operational set-up in the country. Mr Reid took over at Trent in 2008 after Tesco inked a deal with the retail arm of the salt-to-software Tata Group.

Trent's Reid to head parent firm Tesco’s China biz

A pharmacist by training, he had worked with Boots for about 15 years earning his spurs in organised retail. He eventually ran the South East of England Region, responsible for around 200 stores. In 2005 he joined Tesco in Central Europe as the COO for their Hungarian business before coming to India. That stint is expected to come to an end on March 1.

Star Bazaar is estimated to have around seven operational stores and plans to scale that up to 11 by end of the year. That figure is slated to touch 50 in five years, according to company plans. Star Bazaar sells fruits, vegetables and non-vegetarian products, dairy, home care, health and beauty products, apparel, home decor, gifts and household items.

Tesco, the world’s third-largest retailer, is currently concluding its supply-chain integration with Star Bazaar as part of its franchise agreement with Trent. Tesco chose Trent as its partner almost two years after calling off talks with the Bharti Group. The wholesale outlets will sell groceries and other goods to small retailers and restaurant owners and supply Star Bazaar, Tesco said. Tesco’s first wholesale store in India is scheduled to open sometime this year. The UK retailer is keen to get a foothold in India where chain-store sales are expected to touch $97 billion by 2012, according to consultant Technopak Advisors. Tesco officials have said the retailer is relying on emerging markets of China, South Korea and India for future growth.

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Article Tags: Franchise India, Gordon Reid, Noel Tata, Retail Business, Retail Franchise, Star Bazaar, Tesco, Trent



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Re: Lemonade Stand Lessons - [quote="jvprosperity":3el7obf0]How about parents exposing their children to business early on? Business can be a boring subject to children but how does a parent make it fun. There is so much to be learned in life from business lessons but it can be dry to a child. Does a parent expose it thru a lemonade stand experience? how does the parent explain in a fun way that the reason no sales are being made is due to location or advertising??[/quote:3el7obf0] It's been a while since I've seen a lemonade stand...and I don't think I've seen seen cubscouts or boyscouts doing any fund raising, but of course every year girl scouts selling cookies door to door... That's more proactive than sitting on a street corner waiting for people to drop by... Does it teach them about business though...I don't think so. Having kids do chores for allowance money would be the way to go - you don't do your chores you don't get your allowance... you don't have enough money to buy something you have to wait for next week's allowance --- too often parent will buy the kid the object anyway, giving him or her a sense of "instant gratification" which will destroy any concept of developing patience or realizing that you have to work for what you want...
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