London, 2016-Sep-13 — /EPR Retail News/ — Mark Williamson, Commercial Director at Waitrose, is to retire at the end of January 2017.
Rupert Thomas, currently Marketing Director at Waitrose, will move into the Commercial Director role from February 2017. Rupert’s replacement will be announced at a later date.
Mark joined Waitrose in 2004 and has been on its Management Board for 10 years. He will continue as Chair of the Leckford Estate – the Waitrose Farm – a role he took up earlier this year.
Rob Collins, Managing Director, said: ‘Mark has done a fantastic job and achieved great things on the commercial front; he’s been a valued board colleague, bringing wisdom and experience to our work. I’m delighted that he continues as Chairman of Leckford so that we will still benefit from his contribution to our business.
‘Rupert, our very successful Marketing Director, also has strong commercial experience. He joined Waitrose in 2003 having spent over ten years in various commercial and marketing roles; his first job with us was heading our Grocery and Fruit buying teams. He is the ideal candidate to pick up the baton from Mark and I wish them both well for the future.’
Waitrose – winner of the Best Supermarket1 and Best Food Retailer2 awards- currently has 350 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 61 convenience branches, and another 27 shops at Welcome Break locations. It combines the convenience of a supermarket with the expertise and service of a specialist shop – dedicated to offering quality food that has been responsibly sourced, combined with high standards of customer service. Waitrose also exports its products to countries worldwide and has eight shops which operate under licence in the Middle East. Waitrose’s omnichannel business includes the online grocery service Waitrose.com, as well as specialist online shops including waitrosecellar.com for wine and waitrosekitchen.com for cookware, utensils and kithchen gadgets.
¹ Which? Customer Survey
² Verdict Customer Satisfaction Awards
Enquiries:
For further information, please contact:
Gill Smith
Senior PR Manager (Corporate)
Telephone: 01344 825165
Email: gill.smith@waitrose.co.uk
Source: John Lewis Partnership