GENERAL MERCHANDISE NEWS
Morrisons appoints group trading director
18 December, 2012 | by Retail Bulletin
Morrisons has appointed Casper Meijer as group trading director. He will take up his new role in the first quarter of 2013, succeeding Richard Hodgson who stood down last month as commercial director following disappointing sales.
Meijer is joining Morrisons from the Ahold-owned supermarket chain Albert Heijn where he was executive vice president for merchandising. He has worked at Ahold since 2000, first as buying and merchandising director, then vice-president of European sourcing before holding various commercial executive positions with Ahold USA. Martyn Jones, who took over the role following Hodgson’s departure, will continue as interim group commercial director until Meijer has completed an induction to ensure a managed handover of responsibilities.
Dalton Philips, Morrisons’ chief executive, said: “I am really pleased that Casper is joining Morrisons. His broad retail experience, and in particular his record and passion for offering customers fresh food at affordable prices is a great fit with Morrisons.
“He is well placed to help drive our trading strategy as we roll out our fresh format stores and expand into new channels including convenience.”
