Bogof's Week

Grocer, Sept 1, 2001

My congratulations again go to Safeway's director of communications Dr Kevin Hawkins, for his performance on BBC TV's Newsnight this Tuesday.

Called in with the usual suspects to debate the future of the industry -- with all the traditional BBC-style, preconceived notions that involves -- he gave the performance of a lifetime.

He's got a bit of a track record here, of course, as readers with long memories will remember he was the only multiple PR man brave enough to face Panorama when the Rip-off Britain tirades were at their height.

Anyway back to Newsnight.

In the face of ridiculously aggressive questioning, not to mention unnecessarily rude interruptions from smug presenter Ms Kirsty Wark, the Safeway man was, as ever, the supreme professional while the cameras were on him.

Mind you, rumour has it that our Kev left the studio muttering something unrepeatable about bumptious interviewers and threatening to cancel his subscription to the Radio Times.

Cool PR skills were also needed a bit further north in the past week as Asda's spin doctors struggled to put a gloss on the departure of yet another high flier -- this time chief executive Paul Mason.

Unfortunately, while such skills were needed, they were not to be found, It was hard not to snort out loud when I heard one of my colleagues being told by a certain person in Leeds that, and I quote, "we thrive on change. The more we have the better we do."

Indeed.