Waitrose has appointed Nicola Jones as its new wine trading manager. She has been promoted after 13 years with the high-end supermarket.
Jones joined Waitrose as a graduate and has held roles across its commercial and trading team, most recently as a category manager for its beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks department.
She will begin her new role on 13 October.
“I am truly honoured to join such a talented team of experts in a category that I am deeply passionate about, especially at a time when we have incredible opportunities to drive growth,” Jones said.
“Over the past two years, I have had the privilege of collaborating closely with the beers, wines, spirits, and soft drinks team as category strategy manager, and I look forward to bringing my own knowledge and expertise to the team.”
She joins as Waitrose amid a broader shake-up of its 2,100 strong booze offer. In August the supermarket completed a range review of its spirits category, adding 38 lines across its estate.
Waitrose typically tends to overtrade on wine compared with its rivals and has focused on expanding the range as part of its recent NPD efforts, adding several new varieties to its newly relaunched No.1 premium own label.
“As we enter the busy Christmas period, we have some really exciting newness landing in Blueprint, Loved & Found wines as well as our No.1 range and are working hard with our trusted suppliers to keep the magic and innovation that we are famous for,” said Pierpaolo Petrassi, Waitrose head of beer, wine and spirits.
“We are delighted to have Nicki join the team at this crucial time. Her customer focus, passion for product and in depth knowledge of the business will be vital as she leads our team of talented wine buyers as trading manager.”
Her appointment comes alongside the launch of a new wine cork recycling scheme at seven Waitrose stores on 7 October. The “supermarket-first” trial will allow shoppers to deposit their used wine corks in stores, to be reprocessed by cork producer Amorim.
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