John Briddon has been appointed chief officer of The Co-operative Group's new north-west region, covering 553 food stores.

The region, which stretches from Newcastle to Sheffield and from Rhyl to Hull, was the former trading area of United Co-operatives, which merged with The Co-operative Group in July last year to form the UK's largest co-operative society.

Briddon was previously a regional operations manager for United Co-op. He joined the society in 1985 and was promoted to store manager within a year. He has also held the roles of area manager and senior area manager.

"My aim is to ensure we remain focused on delivering the fantastic results we are achieving," he said.

"I firmly believe a positive attitude produces positive results. High levels of customer service will be at the forefront of everything we do and we will continue to build on our solid reputation as a trusted community retailer."