LONDON |
LONDON (Reuters) - British group Tesco (TSCO.L), the world's third-biggest retailer, should reassess the strategy for its loss-making U.S. chain Fresh & Easy, a group that works with pensions and benefit funds sponsored by trade unions said.
The Change to Win Investment Group, which works with the pension plans of four major U.S. unions, said Tesco should set up a committee of non-executive directors to review its strategy for Fresh & Easy, which does not recognize unions.
It wants this committee to issue a report "that discloses the metrics and timeframe" the Tesco board will use to evaluate the division's future performance.
It has submitted amendments to this effect to Tesco's report and accounts ahead of the company's annual meeting in Cardiff on June 29 and said if the board rejected its proposals it would advise shareholders to vote against the resolution to receive the report and accounts.
"This proposal is union-motivated and follows several years of union opposition in the U.S. Change to Win is not a shareholder, and does not speak for shareholders," a Tesco spokeswoman said.
"Fresh & Easy continues to grow and innovate and is showing positive sales momentum. We are confident the business is moving in the right direction."
Earlier this year, Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke rejected shareholder calls to pull the plug on Fresh & Easy.
He said at the time he did not expect the chain to break even until its 2013/14 year, compared with the end of 2012/13 previously.
On Monday, Tesco reported underlying sales growth at Fresh & Easy slowed to 3.6 percent in its first quarter from 12.3 percent in the fourth quarter.
Tesco shares were down 0.1 percent at 305 pence at 0850 GMT.
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Dan Lalor)
Source: www.reuters.com
Exhausted Rafa falls flat in Halle as pre-Wimbledon fatigue strikes yet again - Daily Mail
By Mike Dickson
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There is one time of year when Rafael Nadal losing before the semi-finals is not a surprise — the Friday after the French Open in his Wimbledon warm-up, which saw him perish yet again.
This time it happened in Halle, not in the AEGON Championships at Queen's Club, which he is missing partly due to the onerous UK tax regime which means it is barely worth his while turning up, in financial terms at least.
The man who woke up fancying his chances was German No 2 Philipp Kohlschreiber, who won 6-3, 6-4 against the fatigued Spaniard. Nadal only flew to northern Germany on Tuesday morning after his latest triumph at Roland Garros.
Not himself: Rafael Nadal looks dejected during his quarter-final defeat in Germany
Something of a pattern is emerging here, which is not entirely surprising and should not cause too much alarm for Nadal’s many fans. Four times at Queen’s — which hopes to attract him back in the next couple of years — he got to the Friday quarter-finals and was then beaten, suffering after the exertions of his customary glorious clay court campaign.
While not too much should be read into the defeat by the world No 34 it is notable that the only year he won his post French Open outing on grass, in 2008 at Queen’s, he went on to win his first Wimbledon title three weeks later.
Nadal will now spend the weekend at home in Mallorca to recharge his batteries before heading to the All England Club early next week to fine tune his preparations.
Roger Federer withstood a barrage of 25 aces from young Canadian Milos Raonic to win 7-6, 4-6, 7-6.
Home hero: Philipp Kohlschreiber celebrates beating Nadal at the Gerry Weber Open
There was also encouraging news for another Wimbledon contender when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga discovered that the finger he damaged while slipping on the grass at Queen’s is not broken.
A statement on the world No 5’s Facebook page said: ‘He suffered a severe sprain of the little finger of his right hand without tearing. He will have a new scan on Monday. His participation in Wimbledon is currently not in doubt.’
Grigor Dimitrov, the hugely promising 21-year-old Bulgarian whose game has been compared to Federer’s, shed tears of joy after beating South African Kevin Anderson 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to make the last four of the AEGON Championships, the first ATP semi-final of his career.
He is awaiting the winner of the match between Belgium’s Xavier Malisse and Argentina’s David Nalbandian after another day of rain delays.
Meanwhile, Leon Smith, the Lawn Tennis Association’s head of national training, warned that it could be ‘three or four years’ before there is any significant upturn in the fortunes of the country’s male players at Wimbledon.
Money maker: Nadal has been lured to play in Germany this week due to the UK tax laws
Although GB appears to have its best crop of teenage boys for many years, the rising age of tennis players maturing means patience will be required. ‘I think we are quite well placed with the women. Not all of the boys are going to come through but you are looking at another three or four years,’ he said. ‘Very few 21-year-olds are making an impact in Grand Slams these days.’
He also admitted the current crop of senior players ‘will need a decent draw and then to play above themselves’ if they are to join Andy Murray — who has agreed to play two matches at the Boodles Tournament at Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire next Wednesday and Thursday — in flying the flag at the world’s premier tournament.
James Ward and Jamie Baker were yesterday given the wildcards for next week’s AEGON International at Eastbourne, while in the women’s event the two cards at the LTA’s disposal went to the in-form women players, Anne Keothavong and Heather Watson.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Wimbledon fitness boost for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - Daily Telegraph
"I think it's serious," he said directly after the match.
"I will have a scan, but it sounds very bad. I felt like I broke something or I strained it when I fell.
"It's only a finger but it's tough because I have to play with my hand.
"At the moment I don't know what is it, but I will stay positive and I will see."
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Tesco Challenged by Union Group on Fresh & Easy Strategy - Bloomberg
Tesco Plc (TSCO) needs to increase transparency on its unprofitable Fresh & Easy store division, according to a union-backed U.S. pension-advisory group that’s seeking a review of the unit for the second consecutive year.
CtW Investment Group, which works with pension funds tied to the Change to Win labor-union association in the U.S., said it has “reached out” to shareholders who control 75 percent of the Cheshunt, England-based retailer’s stock to push for amendments to the annual report, including the call for a review. A Tesco spokesman said the proposal is union-motivated and CtW Investment isn’t a shareholder.
Tesco, the world’s third-largest retailer, entered the West Coast of the U.S. in 2007 with the introduction of the Fresh & Easy in-town store format focusing on own-brand items and fresh food. The chain has more than 190 stores in Arizona, Nevada and California. Shifts in strategy and benchmarks make predicting Fresh & Easy’s performance difficult, with total investment and losses exceeding 1.94 billion pounds ($3 billion), and there’s “inadequate disclosure” of costs, CtW said.
“This is an unusual action, but Change to Win believe it’s needed to demonstrate to the board the increasing shareholder discontent about Fresh & Easy,” the investment group said in an e-mail.
Goal Delayed
Tesco scaled back projections for Fresh & Easy in April, saying the brand will break even in the 12 months through February 2014, a year later than planned. Tesco last year said it would need 300 stores in the U.S. to break even, fewer than the 400 originally anticipated. The plan announced in April means Fresh & Easy will have just 230 stores by February 2013.
David Reid, Tesco’s chairman at the time, dismissed calls calls by CtW at the 2011 annual shareholders meeting for a strategic review of Fresh & Easy. Tesco’s 2012 annual meeting is scheduled for June 29.
Same-store sales growth at the division slowed in the fiscal first quarter to 3.6 percent from 12.3 percent in the fourth quarter.
Chief Executive Officer Philip Clarke said June 11 that Tesco “needs a bit more” from Fresh & Easy. The chain this week offered a new Kitchen To Go range of 150 freshly prepared meals such as $7.99 Texan-style pork butt for two people and a $5.99 dish of lobster macaroni and cheese.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Shannon in London at sshannon4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net
Source: www.bloomberg.com
RAFA NADAL'S PREPARATIONS FOR WIMBLEDON ARE CUT SHORT - express.co.uk
The German triumphed 6-3, 6-4 just four days after Nadal won a record seventh French Open title at Roland Garros on Monday. Kohlschreiber had been beaten by Spaniard Nadal in eight previous meetings.
Five-time winner Roger Federer was forced to endure his second consecutive final-set tiebreak, against young Canadian Milos Raonic, before winning 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 to book his place in the semi-finals.
Source: www.express.co.uk
Wow Claire thanks for the explanation..... I'm horrified that is truly mercenary. However when Halle signed Rafa up they did know what they were letting themselves in for as his history at Queens speaks for itself. Like you, not impressed. I could tell today that he didnt care about winning.
- Emily, London, 15/6/2012 23:31
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