Tesco 2014 Annual Report Download - page 66

We are committed to improving the skills, knowledge and wellbeing
of our colleagues. Our selection, training, development and
promotion policies ensure equal opportunities for all colleagues
regardless of factors such as gender, marital status, race, age,
sexual preference and orientation, colour, creed, ethnic origin,
religion or belief, disability or trade union affiliation. All decisions
are based on merit.
We actively encourage colleagues to become involved in the
financial performance of our business through a variety of
voluntary share schemes.
Political donations
The Group did not make any political donations (2012/13: £nil) or
incur any political expenditure during the year (2012/13: £33,583).
Compliance with the Groceries (Supply Chain Practices)
Market Investigation Order 2009 and the Groceries Supply
Code of Practice (‘Code’)
The Code places obligations on grocery retailers with a turnover
greater than £1 billion to maintain a Code compliance programme,
which includes training staff and providing information to the
Competition and Markets Authority. In addition, the Code sets out
a number of provisions which relate to different aspects of the
relationship between a retailer and supplier.
We are committed to treating our suppliers fairly and work in
collaboration with them wherever possible. We have in place
a Code Compliance Officer supported by a compliance team
including a Code auditor. We have an audit plan and our approach
enables us to identify any gaps in our processes so they can be
quickly fixed. We also have in place an ongoing compliance training
programme for our buying teams, with comprehensive training
for relevant new starters and annual refresher training. We have
strengthened our compliance in this area through the improvement
of our e-learning tool to provide interactive online training for
staff. We have also generated new mechanisms to improve our
paperwork and agreements with our suppliers.
In the past year we have actively engaged and co-operated with
the recently created Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), Christine
Tacon, and her office. We have also focused on communication
and dialogue with our suppliers.
Twelve Code-related complaints were raised by suppliers this year,
all of which were resolved through discussion with the suppliers
concerned. We have had two instances where complaints were
referred to the Code Compliance Officer, although in neither of
those instances was a formal dispute raised as both matters were
resolved with the suppliers concerned. There was one instance in
which an alleged breach was raised by a third party in relation to
requests to a limited number of suppliers for funding associated
with shelf positioning. The requests from suppliers were withdrawn
and the matter was openly discussed with the GCA. Consequently,
the GCA issued a GSCOP clarification in March 2014 on the issue.
This provided guidance for suppliers and retailers on the interpretation
of the GSCOP provisions relating to shelf positioning. The Code
Compliance Officer regularly reports to our Compliance Committees
and Audit Committee, which retain effective oversight of our
compliance with the Code.
Going concern
The Directors consider that the Group and the Company have
adequate resources to remain in operation for the foreseeable
future and have therefore continued to adopt the going concern
basis in preparing the financial statements.
Events after the Balance Sheet date
On 21 March 2014, the Group entered into an agreement with
Trent Limited, part of the Tata Group, to form a 50:50 joint venture
in Trent Hypermarket Limited which operates the Star Bazaar retail
business in India. The Group’s investment is £85 million.
On 2 April 2014, the Group, through its subsidiary dunnhumby
Limited, acquired Sociomantic Labs (‘Sociomantic’), a Berlin-based
global leader in digital advertising solutions, for £124 million.
Sociomantic operates in 14 countries worldwide, with clients in
retail, financial services and travel services.
Auditors
A resolution to reappoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors
of the Company and the Group will be proposed at the 2014 AGM.
Directors’ statement of disclosure of information to auditors
Having made the requisite enquiries, the Directors in office at the
date of this Annual Report and Financial Statements have each
confirmed that, so far as they are aware, there is no relevant audit
information (as defined by Section 418 of the Companies Act
2006) of which the Group’s auditors are unaware, and each of
the Directors has taken all the steps he/she ought to have taken
as a Director to make himself/herself aware of any relevant audit
information and to establish that the Group’s auditors are aware
of that information. This confirmation is given and should be
interpreted in accordance with the provisions of Section 418
of the Companies Act 2006.
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking information
Where this document contains forward-looking statements, these
are made by the Directors in good faith based on the information
available to them at the time of their approval of this report.
These statements should be treated with caution due to the
inherent risks and uncertainties underlying any such forward-
looking information. The Group cautions investors that a number
of factors, including matters referred to in this document, could
cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in
any forward-looking statement. Such factors include, but are not
limited to, those discussed under ‘Principal risks and uncertainties’
on pages 20 to 25 of this Annual Report.
By order of the Board
Jonathan Lloyd
Company Secretary
2 May 2014
Other information
Governance Financial statementsStrategic report
Tesco PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2014 63