Grocery-banking, success-in-waiting?

News that Tesco plan to open banks in 30 branches by the end of 2009 should not be news.
In fact the germ of the idea could have been seen in UK research where consumers, when asked who they would trust most with their money, most indicated that they would trust the local supermarket manager in preference to the manager of the local bank….
And that was 15 years before the current banking crisis destroyed consumer confidence for generations…
In fact, three years ago, Swiss retailer Migros launched Migros bank The bank did not pay its top bankers bonuses. Nor did it engage in risky international investments. Instead it focused on collecting deposits and then turning those into low-risk loans, for consumers who tended to use the group for their grocery shopping. That has turned Migros into one of the fastest- growing private sector banks in Switzerland, if not Europe..
Good retailers are trusted more than banks, carry no 'banking baggage', are good negotiators, focus upon cost-cutting reflected in low prices, pay their top people by results, and focus upon delighting their customers to encourage repeat visits…
Most importantly, they understand cash, whilst banks may understand 'quantitative easing', the same banks appear to have lost touch with the meaning of cash…

Even before the banking crisis, this was a no-brainer…!!
And if you think they were pretty focused on cash, financial measures and profit drivers before, watch 'em from now on…