>>nominated this month: Tesco, somerfield, Morrisons, ASDA, sainsbury, makro

Mike Arnott
Senior buying manager, household, tesco
Arnott joined Tesco in 1995 to work in product marketing for two years. He then moved into merchandising, where he stayed until 2000 when he joined the buying team. Now senior buying manager, household and laundry, Arnott is credited with introducing products such as Tesco paint plus relaunching car care and DIY.
trainee buyer, non-edible grocery, Asda

Helen Smale
Trainee buyer, non-edible grocery, ASDA
Smale began her career at Asda in 1998, starting out in customer services within the distribution department. She moved into home shopping for two years before moving to trading as a paper buyer. After a year in this role she moved across to cleaning and kitchen as a trainee buyer and has been in this role for 18 months.
category buyer, somerfield

Seamus Butler
Category buyer, Somerfield
Butler began working for Somerfield in 1999 as merchandising development manager in impulse grocery. He then moved to Kwik Save to work alongside the central buying team for total grocery. After two years as product group manager for household, Butler left the business, only to return later as category buyer, laundry and dishwash.
household buyer, makro

Nick Redford
Household buyer, MAKRO
Redford joined Makro in 1997 in the role of commercial assistant on detergents and paper before moving to confectionery. He became a trainee buyer in the beer and cider category in 2000 and was then promoted to the position of general grocery buyer. He took up his current role in September 2002.
senior household buyer, morrisons

Fergus Dodds
Senior household buyer, Morrisons
Dodds joined Morrisons in 1996 as buyer for biscuits, tea, coffee and hot beverages. His current role is senior buyer for household and laundry. Before Morrisons, Dodds was regional purchasing manager at Aldi before moving on to Lidl as a buying manager. Suppliers credit him with an extensive understanding of the category.
detergent buyer, sainsbury

Alastair Wilson
Detergent buyer, Sainsbury
Wilson joined Sainsbury in 1999 from Safeway, where he worked in non-food. He has arrived in household goods via plant buying and has been responsible for fabric care for the last two years. Wilson has championed business planning in household and worked on the relaunch of Sainsbury’s own label detergents.