MarketWatch reports that Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and one of the world’s most respected investors, said this week at his company’s annual shareholder conference that Tesco should take a “hard look” at its Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets chain in the western US, and said that the effort had been “foolhardy.”
Berkshire Hathaway holds a three percent position in Tesco.
According to the story, “Charlie Munger, vice-chairman of Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway investment business, was even more forthright, saying that Tesco's West Coast adventure had been ill-advised, adding: ‘I could have told (Tesco) if they had asked me, but they didn't’.”
The comments are seen as having a potential impact on Tesco’s new CEO, Philip Clarke, who is perceived as being less enamored with Fresh & Easy than his predecessor, Sir Terry Leahy, who launched Tesco’s American experiment.
Berkshire Hathaway holds a three percent position in Tesco.
According to the story, “Charlie Munger, vice-chairman of Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway investment business, was even more forthright, saying that Tesco's West Coast adventure had been ill-advised, adding: ‘I could have told (Tesco) if they had asked me, but they didn't’.”
The comments are seen as having a potential impact on Tesco’s new CEO, Philip Clarke, who is perceived as being less enamored with Fresh & Easy than his predecessor, Sir Terry Leahy, who launched Tesco’s American experiment.
- KC's View:
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Tough words. I still think that Tesco is not close to pulling the plug on its not-so-excellent adventure ... though I think this all could change is someone offered to buy the whole division, and it were a number that Tesco could live with. That may be the wild card in the deck...
