AF Blakemore & Son Ltd has appointed a new chief commercial officer.
CJ Antal Smith joins AF Blakemore from Poundland & Dealz, where she had been leading the commercial, marketing and digital functions, and “brings extensive experience in food and convenience retail”, having previously held senior commercial roles at Co-op, Halfords, Nando’s and Asda.
In her new role, effective from today (8 September), Antal Smith will accelerate AF Blakemore’s customer-led strategy, leading the commercial and marketing teams to strengthen relationships with shoppers, retailers, suppliers and stakeholders, in a move to reach the company’s aim of becoming the UK’s best Community Grocery Retailer and a leading Food Solutions Business.
Chief executive officer at AF Blakemore, Carol Welch, said: “CJ’s track record in commercial leadership, as well as her deep understanding of the customer in the convenience retail space makes her a powerful addition to our business. By bringing the Marketing and Commercial teams together under her leadership we will strengthen our customer-led strategy, as well as building stronger partnerships across shoppers, retailers, suppliers and other stakeholders, resulting in a further acceleration in our growth.”
Commenting on her new role, CJ Antal Smith, said: “It’s a very exciting time to be joining AF Blakemore as it embeds its exciting customer-led strategy across the business, with new retail partnerships opening up new routes to market. Convenience is changing fast – people are shopping little and often, and community, value and choice matter more than ever. That’s exactly where AF Blakemore is making a real difference, and I can’t wait to get started and work with the team to build on this momentum.”
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