British supermarket veteran Darren Blackhurst has been appointed as Coles Liquor Chief Executive.
The Australian reports that Coles CEO Steven Cain announced in a memo to staff that Blackhurst would be joining Coles early in the new year.
“Darren joins us with over 25 years’ experience in international retailing and an impressive background delivering results, driving change and leading highly engaged teams,’’ the memo said.
Blackhurst’s most recent role was as Group Commercial Director of Morrisons in the UK.
Coles Liquor has a national team of 5600 team members in 900 stores. Coles Liquor stores; First Choice Liquor Market, Vintage Cellars and Liquorland collectively serve more than two million customers each week.
Cathi Scarce has been Acting Coles Liquor Chief Executive since March 2018.
Tony Parry appointed GM of Coles Express
Coles Liquor executive Tony Parry has been promoted to General Manager Operations for Coles Express.
Coles Express has approximately 712 fuel and convenience sites across Australia and employs more than 5000 team members.
Originally joining Coles in 2014, Parry has held a number of senior positions within Coles Liquor, and has led the rollout of a number of key initiatives for its liquor stores.
Most recently Parry was Business Category Manager, leading all aspects of the merchandise team for both First Choice Liquor and the new brand of First Choice Liquor Market.
Coles noted that Parry had achieved “impressive commercial results” in the role.
Prior to working at Coles, Parry spent 11 years with Marks and Spencer in the UK in a range of roles.
Coles noted: “Please join us in congratulating Tony on his new role! We look forward to seeing you continue to do good things.”
