Colin Graves leaves Costcutter following board restructure
Costcutter founder and former executive chairman Colin Graves has left the company after 25 years to become executive chairman of Yorkshire Cricket Club.
In a board restructure after Bibby Line Group took 100% ownership of Costcutter last November, Graves was to remain as chairman. However Graves announced his resignation in January after the business tried to change his role to that of a non-executive chairman, which he described as “unacceptable”.
Graves said: “I’m very much hands on as an operator, and being a non-executive chair wasn’t acceptable to me.”
As part of the Costcutter board restructure, Richard Collins has been appointed to the role of retail operations director, while Bob Marshall becomes finance director and Steve Potter takes up the role of strategy and operations director.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Chief executive Nick Ivel will remain in post alongside UK sales and development director David Thompson. Marketing director Ian Bishop and trading director Angela Barber will also stay in their existing positions.
Jamie Davison will continue as sales and development director for the South, while Duncan Jelfs has appointed as director of sales and development for the North. Craig Farrington has been promoted to the role of director of sales development.
Ivel said; “The launch of our new Kwiksave and myCostcutter fascias, and the imminent roll-out of a Rhythm & Booze franchise proposition, demonstrates our dedication to giving retailers best-in-class solutions to help them grow their business.
“With the financial stability and scale afforded to us as part of Bibby Line Group I predict a very bright future for Costcutter Supermarkets Group and its retailers.”
Commenting on the departure of Graves, Sir Michael Bibby, managing director of Bibby Line, said: “The commitment and enthusiasm to retailers demonstrated by Colin will continue to be the driving force behind the company’s plans for the future.”
