St Ivel head of marketing loses his job

St Ivel marketing director Tony Lucas has been made redundant and is to leave the company at the end of the year, as part of cost-cuts by parent company Uniq.

Lucas’s position has been scrapped and St Ivel managing director (commercial) Mike Hodgson will assume responsibility for marketing.

Uniq’s cost-cutting is aimed at turning around profits at its food business, following a slump in sales of St Ivel’s Shape brand and the performance of its French business Marie.

It is understood that Lucas, who was at the company for six years, was made redundant as a result of these moves. David Hall, the marketing director for Shape yogurt and desserts, left earlier this year. Hall was responsible for appointing HHCL & Partners, which recently lost the Shape business to Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO. Shape is to be relaunched next year, overseen by Hodgson, who says: “We are confident the new-look Shape range will be a huge hit with our customers.”