Alldays marketing chief goes as Co-op takes reins
Alldays marketing director Sally Nichols and five other senior managers have been given the push by the new owners of the convenience chain, the Co-operative Group.
Nichols’ post at Alldays has been under review since the chain was bought by the Co-op Group in October last year for &£131m (MW October 31, 2002). At the time, the deal made the Co-op Group market leader in the &£20bn UK convenience sector.
It is believed that Nichols, who left last Friday along with four other directors, does not have a job to go to. Commercial director David Cheyne left before Christmas last year.
It is not clear what will happen to the three remaining members of the Alldays marketing team. A spokesman for the Co-op Group says: “We are still working on the integration plan. There will be further announcements in due course.”
The Co-op Group has said that it will rebrand most of the 637 Alldays stores as Co-op Welcome and has so far selected ten outlets to test several different formats. The rebranded stores will offer Co-op own-label products and a wider range of fresh produce.
The Co-op Group’s position in the convenience sector is at risk from supermarket chain Tesco, which has been given clearance from the Office of Fair Trading to buy the T&S chain for &£530m.
