Tesco must up its game as Tony Hoggett joins Amazon physical retail push

On Friday evening, we reported that Tony Hoggett was stepping down from the role of Tesco Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer to head up Amazon’s international stores arm.

He will move to Amazon’s HQ in Seattle, Washington and become Senior VP of Physical Stores in January 2022.

In a note to staff, Tesco Chief Executive Ken Murphy wrote: “Tony’s career in Tesco has spanned over 31 years, during which time he has worked in various roles, most recently as Group COO and Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer.”

“Tony has made an incredibly valuable contribution over these years, and I wish him the very best for the future.”

Murphy added that Tesco would begin the search for a successor in due course.

A blow for @Tesco and major coup for @amazon, highlighting their physical retail ambitions. https://t.co/zoO0qUkdsi
— Scott Thompson (@ScottThomps74) July 10, 2021

“Time to be a bit more Jack ‘let’s just try it’ Cohen again”

Rob Mitchell, Product Manager at Tesco Technology, said on LinkedIn: “I’d love to have a chat with Tony Hoggett over a beer/coffee to understand why he’s made this move.”

He added: “(Physical stores) is a massively interesting and exciting ‘space’ to be in and one which Amazon are clearly driving hard.”

And he signed off by referencing Jack Cohen, the son of Jewish migrants from Poland, who founded Tesco in 1919 when he began to sell war surplus groceries from a market stall in the East End of London.

The name Tesco was born in 1924, the retailer’s first store opened in 1929, in Burnt Oak, Edgware, north London, and the rest, as they say, is history.

“Time for us to step up our game at Tesco and be a bit more Jack ‘let’s just try it’ Cohen again….Well done Tony. I’ll be watching with interest,” Mitchell concluded.

Amazon

Hoggett’s departure is undoubtedly a blow for Tesco and a major coup for Amazon, highlighting the US e-commerce giant’s physical retail ambitions.

Recent developments in this space include the opening of an Amazon Fresh location in Camden, London.

This is the fifth such convenience store to feature Just Walk Out tech, which was pioneered at the Amazon Go offering in the States, in the UK.

The other four are in Ealing, Wembley Park, White City and Canary Wharf. Opening hours are from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm, seven days a week.

Meanwhile, Just Walk Out technology is now available in a full size grocery store for the first time.

A new 25,000 square foot Amazon Fresh store lines up alongside the 10,400 square foot Amazon Go Grocery that debuted last year, and the standard 1,200 and 2,300 square feet Go locations.

This is Amazon’s 14th Fresh location in the US and can be found in Bellevue, Washington.

Customers who opt for this can enter the store in three ways.

They can scan the QR code in their Amazon app, use Amazon One to scan their palm, or insert a credit or debit card linked to their Amazon account. Each option will open the Just Walk Out gates.

Once inside the store, customers can shop like normal. Anything they take off the shelf is automatically added to their virtual cart, and anything they put back on the shelf comes out of said cart.

At the end of their trip, they scan or insert their entry method again to exit.