Tesco's open check-out
PILE it high, sell it cheap, was the rule that Jack Cohen laid down at Tesco. His successor, Sir Ian MacLaurin, piles his salary high and sells himself dearly — at the absurd rate of £11/2 million a year. It is the sign of a badly directed company (examples: Burton, Coloroll, British & Commonwealth) when the chairman col- lects a disproportionate pay packet, and it is no excuse that some non-executive gag- gle approved these arrangements, possibly in mistake for a lunch bill. Even in reces- sion, directors — as a new survey showed this week — easily persuade each other that they need special incentives. Their service contracts ought to be subject to shareholders' approval. Policing them is the owners' job, and the owners need the chance to do it before their money has been signed away.
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