Sir Peter Davis arrived in the Sainsbury hot seat this week. What challenges does he face? The man from the Pru hung up his umbrella and took to the aisles this week. Sir Peter Davis, former boss of the Prudential insurance company, has returned to his retail roots to shake out Sainsbury's - the company where he cut his managerial teeth. It will be a matter of personality as much as management acumen that is needed at the helm. Paul Smiddy, analyst at Credit Lyonnaise, said most of Davis' plans for the company will be revealed in May. "I imagine he will be bringing some consistency to the marketing of the company and the focus will very much be on consumer choice. "He has brought a very good reputation with him from the Pru." In January the company announced another profit warning, however, and City analysts said pretax profits would be at the bottom end of market expectations ­ at between £560m and £610. But shares went up 5% as the appointment of the man with the Midas touch was announced. It will be interesting to see how he works with his new management team of supermarkets md David Bremner and marketing guru Kevin McCarten. And he now has the attention of the smaller focus Sainsbury Local stores to concentrate his mind, although Smiddy said this was pretty much a side issue ­ his main issue will still be on the large store battle against up and coming rival Asda. {{NEWS }}

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