Morrisons snaps up former Waitrose meat buyer

Morrisons has appointed former Waitrose meat buyer Tom Richardson as its new category director for meat.

Richardson will step into the newly created role in the summer, taking on responsibility for sourcing and new product development.

He has been tasked with developing Morrisons’ meat offering as the retailer looks to further grow its share of the fresh meat market – currently 12.1% compared to a 10.2% overall market share [Kantar: 12 w/e 26/04/2015].

Originally from West Yorkshire, Richardson spend nearly a decade working for Waitrose in a variety of roles including senior meat buyer and agricultural manager.

He joins Morrisons from Australian supermarket group Coles, where he was meat category manager for three years.

David Potts, Chief Executive of Morrisons said: “We’re really pleased that Tom is returning to his home county of Yorkshire. He will play an important role in improving our fresh meat offering, making it even better for customers who rightly expect the best quality at keen prices.”