Appointments include new faces running the grocery and fresh departments
Symbol group Spar UK has announced three new director appointments at its Central Office in Harrow.
Trudy Hills has become trading director - grocery, Simon Mitchell has been promoted to trading director - BWS, fresh and frozen, while Jamie Seymour has moved up to to Spar brand director.
Nick Bunker, non-executive chair of the Spar Food Distributors (SFD) board, said: “We are delighted to congratulate Trudy, Simon and Jamie on their promotions, all of which are a reflection of their continued effort and contribution to the Spar Central Office team.”
The new directors will “play a key role in delivering the high level of support, service and value Spar independent retailers and customers require, while also working with suppliers,” Bunker added.
All three director appointments will begin with immediate effect, while the business continues its search for a managing director.
The grocery retailer said the appointments come in a year when it has grown through a number of product innovations and delivering value to customers through its promotional campaign, supported by increased marketing and digital activity in stores.
In own label, Spar launched ‘Spotlight’ 12 months ago, a customer-focused initiative to grow sales and bring Spar’s best own-label ranges into maximum distribution across the entire UK Spar estate. The initiative’s success is leading to it being rolled out further in 2024.
Bunker added: “We remain focused on working in partnership with our suppliers to deliver strong commercial terms, innovative NPD and compelling promotions to our RDC shareholders, independent Spar retailers and consumers.
”We are also recognising the increasing importance of the Spar Brand portfolio to our retail propositions and continue to evaluate strategies to further develop our brand.
“Our relentless drive to increase footfall and basketspend for our retailers, to keep prices low for our customers combined with our ability to adapt quickly and bring newness into the convenience sector, is resulting in excellent results. Disrupter brands wanting to increase their awareness are looking to us as the route to market and we are excited for year ahead.”
