Yaxley to replace Clarke as Tesco Ireland CEO

London-based managing director Andrew Yaxley has been announced as the new chief executive of Tesco Ireland.

The appointment came within a fortnight of Phil J Clarke’s announcement that he was to retire from the Irish retailer’s top job after 40 years with the firm.

Yaxley’s selection is expected to bring the Irish and UK sides of the business closer together.

In recent year,s Ireland has been managed as a unit of Tesco’s European business, but in January, group CEO Dave Lewis announced a closer relationship would be fostered between both regions.

Yaxley joined Tesco in 2001 from Mars and became commercial director for the Czech and Slovak Republics in 2003.

He returned to the UK in 2007 as commercial director, first for packaged foods & BWS and then for fresh foods in 2010.

For the last two years he has had responsibility for all Tesco’s 500 stores in the London area, developing their diverse customer offer.

Recent market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel indicate Tesco’s implied sales for the 12 weeks to March 1 were 3.7 per cent lower year-on year, while Aldi and Lidl’s sales grew by almost 11 per cent.

However, Tesco still controls around a quarter of the Irish market, just ahead of Dunnes and Musgrave.