Nisa’s long-serving trading director John Sharpe is leaving the retail buying group after 21 years following a shake-up of its trading team.
Sharpe, who has held a number of roles at Nisa including frozen food controller, MD of central distribution services and MD of central distribution trading & logistics, would leave “in the coming weeks”, Nisa said.
He will be replaced in the interim by Elaine Robinson, who was most recently category director for meat & fish at Asda.
Sharpe’s departure comes as Nisa continues to restructure itself to become a more retail-focused business. In the past 12 months, it has created two new business units - for symbols, and for independents & specialists - which has led to the appointment of Nigel Gray and Steve Leach, but also the departure of symbol director John Heagney and group sales director Andrew Mouse.
Nisa said the contribution Sharpe had made “cannot be underestimated” and that he had “created and led one of the most respected trading teams in the independent sector”.
Nisa chief operating officer Amanda Jones said: “Nisa is reshaping the way it does business to provide its members with a retail-focused and innovative partner that adds value to their business at every level.Trading is a key aspect of the change programme and while we value and appreciate the contribution John has made to our business, Elaine will bring another dimension to our success.
The new trading structure would continue to work closely with suppliers “to make sure we deliver value to our members and a great retail experience to their customers”, she added.
“We are entering exciting times and our changes to the team reflect our belief and ambition that any independent retailer can trust Nisa to deliver the very best wholesale solution.”
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