Asda merges food and non-food roles

News

Ben Furfie Jul 14 2008, 10:59am

Non-food director to leave with food director taking over new joint role

Asda's non-food trading director Peter Pritchard is set to leave the supermarket after chief executive Andy Bond dissolved the position and merge its responsibilities with its food counterpart, headed by Darren Blackhurst.

Blackhurst, who has presided over food trading, will become the firm's new group trading director, responsible for both food and non-food retail at the UK's second largest supermarket chain.

Explaining the move to Retail Week, Bond said: "I have recently been looking at the roles and responsibilities of my executive team.

One of the conclusions I have reached is that the clarity of our trading proposition should the the responsibility of one individual."

Bond continued, explaining the motive behind giving the new position to Blackhurst: "[He] joined from Tesco Thailand and has made a major contribution to spearheading our food trading proposition in the past few years.

"Food has continued to outperform the business plan and the wider market, and has been a material factor in our recovery as a business. Darren is a natural trader," he added.