The Grocer asked suppliers to single out the very best buyers working in the soft drinks category. Fiona McLelland reports
There was tough competition for our new Star Buyer slot this month. Waitrose’s ambient and chilled juice buyer Stuart Owens came out on top.
Owens was also one of the six best smoothies and juice buyers last June. This latest accomplishment follows the success of Melissa Draycott from Sainsbury and CJ Antal-Smith from Asda. Owens’ communication skills and commitment to the category were highlighted by suppliers. They appreciated his firmness and clarity because it helped them meet expectations.
Spencer Playle from Sainsbury also proved an extremely popular choice. Suppliers said he showed great commitment and was open and honest.
And because he was always looking for ways to develop the category, Playle was able to create a win-win situation for the retailer and supplier.
Another buyer to pick up a high number of nominations was Catherine Parkin, soft drinks buying manager at Asda.
She was said to be firm and clear about expectations and very trustworthy, as well as being a skilled communicator and committed to growing the category.
Senior buyer of soft drinks at Morrisons Peter Burleigh received his nominations because of his efficiency - one supplier said that once Burleigh had decided on a listing, the speed at which product reached the shelves was impressive.
He was also praised for his willingness to take risks and try out new products.
Zoe Parker, buying manager, impulse at Tesco, was said to be good to work with and very supportive of the category.
Charlotte Morey, trading manager of soft drinks at Musgrave Budgens-Londis, had already made an big impact on the category, despite only coming into soft drinks following the the restructuring of the MBL trading team this year.
peter burleigh
Burleigh has been in his present role for six years.
He is responsible for all ambient soft drinks, including fruit juice, water, squash, energy, carbonates and mixers. He joined Morrisons in the 1980s as a trainee store manager, then worked for Do-it-All before moving back to Morrisons in 1995.
charlotte Morey
After graduating Morey joined Budgens in 2001 as a retail management trainee and spent a year training in stores and at head office. In 2002, she became a buyer for sauces and condiments and in 2003 also took on crisps and snacks. She moved into soft drinks with the creation of Musgrave Budgens-Londis.
zoe parker
Parker started working at Tesco in June 2002 as a buyer in dairy and moved to soft drinks in September last year. She is now responsible for the purchasing of squash, organic drinks, ambient juice, chilled juice and smoothies. Parker’s career in the retail industry started at Waitrose as a buyer on its graduate training scheme. catherine parkin
Parkin has been in her role for six months. Prior to that she was supplier development manager working with 22 multinational suppliers for Asda and Wal-Mart. Before that she spent seven years at Masterfoods She believes in “saying what you’re going to do”, and being mindful of suppliers’ pressures and limitations.
spencer playle
Playle joined Sainsbury in 1997 at store level. He worked in-store for five years until becoming a buying assistant in grocery in 2001. In that role, he passed Sainsbury’s trading graduate assessment programme and then became a buyer in frozen foods. In 2003, Playle moved to his current role as non-carbonated soft drinks buyer, beers, wines and spirits.
There was tough competition for our new Star Buyer slot this month. Waitrose’s ambient and chilled juice buyer Stuart Owens came out on top.
Owens was also one of the six best smoothies and juice buyers last June. This latest accomplishment follows the success of Melissa Draycott from Sainsbury and CJ Antal-Smith from Asda. Owens’ communication skills and commitment to the category were highlighted by suppliers. They appreciated his firmness and clarity because it helped them meet expectations.
Spencer Playle from Sainsbury also proved an extremely popular choice. Suppliers said he showed great commitment and was open and honest.
And because he was always looking for ways to develop the category, Playle was able to create a win-win situation for the retailer and supplier.
Another buyer to pick up a high number of nominations was Catherine Parkin, soft drinks buying manager at Asda.
She was said to be firm and clear about expectations and very trustworthy, as well as being a skilled communicator and committed to growing the category.
Senior buyer of soft drinks at Morrisons Peter Burleigh received his nominations because of his efficiency - one supplier said that once Burleigh had decided on a listing, the speed at which product reached the shelves was impressive.
He was also praised for his willingness to take risks and try out new products.
Zoe Parker, buying manager, impulse at Tesco, was said to be good to work with and very supportive of the category.
Charlotte Morey, trading manager of soft drinks at Musgrave Budgens-Londis, had already made an big impact on the category, despite only coming into soft drinks following the the restructuring of the MBL trading team this year.
peter burleigh
Burleigh has been in his present role for six years.
He is responsible for all ambient soft drinks, including fruit juice, water, squash, energy, carbonates and mixers. He joined Morrisons in the 1980s as a trainee store manager, then worked for Do-it-All before moving back to Morrisons in 1995.
charlotte Morey
After graduating Morey joined Budgens in 2001 as a retail management trainee and spent a year training in stores and at head office. In 2002, she became a buyer for sauces and condiments and in 2003 also took on crisps and snacks. She moved into soft drinks with the creation of Musgrave Budgens-Londis.
zoe parker
Parker started working at Tesco in June 2002 as a buyer in dairy and moved to soft drinks in September last year. She is now responsible for the purchasing of squash, organic drinks, ambient juice, chilled juice and smoothies. Parker’s career in the retail industry started at Waitrose as a buyer on its graduate training scheme. catherine parkin
Parkin has been in her role for six months. Prior to that she was supplier development manager working with 22 multinational suppliers for Asda and Wal-Mart. Before that she spent seven years at Masterfoods She believes in “saying what you’re going to do”, and being mindful of suppliers’ pressures and limitations.
spencer playle
Playle joined Sainsbury in 1997 at store level. He worked in-store for five years until becoming a buying assistant in grocery in 2001. In that role, he passed Sainsbury’s trading graduate assessment programme and then became a buyer in frozen foods. In 2003, Playle moved to his current role as non-carbonated soft drinks buyer, beers, wines and spirits.
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