It’s been clear for some time Mike Coupe was being groomed to succeed Justin King, raising his profile in the City and the media - including a memorable stint as The Grocer’s guest editor last February, at the height of the Horsegate scandal, in which he struck a more statesmanlike note than might have been expected (calling on the industry to present a united front), and proved an excellent sport (he and I blind-tasted eight different lasagnes of varying quality and origin - though none of it horse, hopefully).

“So, the last of the old guard is gone.The King has left the Building. Long live King Mike!”

Adam Leyland, Editor

Without the obvious poise and panache of King, Coupe is a smart, canny operator, contributing significantly to Sainsbury’s revival. And after 10 years at Sainsbury’s, he knows the business inside out. He’s also outlasted other candidates like ex-CFO Darren Shapland. The obvious comparison is with Tesco’s succession plan, in which Sir Terry Leahy handed over the reins to an experienced internal candidate (Philip Clarke).

But complex and challenging as it is to run a publicly listed big four supermarket - with the City, 157,000 employees, and the small matter of 24 million customers to manage - there are key differences. There are surely no major valuation writedowns needed. The sizeable pension deficit is well documented. Coupe now has more experience of the City than Clarke had.

Above all, big as it is, it’s nothing like as complex a business as Tesco. At times, Tesco’s diverse international portfolio has been a strength in recent times, with the core UK business ailing in the midst of huge structural and economic turmoil, and the malaise spreading to even healthy markets as Clarke cut out the cancerous growths, international has been a distraction Clarke arguably didn’t need.

Still, there will be challenges. The obvious one (temporarily forgotten in the frenzy over King’s resignation) is the renewed scrutiny of Sainsbury’s property portfolio (among others). And while Sainsbury’s has cleared a clever course through the structural and economic turmoil, it’s still in a dogfight. No doubt Coupe’s name was all over its latest anti-brand couponing campaign. What he needs now is some continuity. And to find a suitable commercial director to succeed him.

Read this: Justin King departs: Full industry reaction

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