Waitrose appoints new director of buying

Asda?s brand and marketing director, Richard Hodgson, is joining Waitrose as director of buying.

Hodgson, who takes up his post in the autumn, said: ?I am absolutely passionate about great food and Waitrose is the very best fresh food retailer in the business and is renowned for the strength of its supplier relationships. This is a hugely exciting time for me to join Waitrose as it expands geographically and strengthens its proposition. Within the retail trade everyone agrees that Waitrose sets the standard when it comes to fresh food and my challenge will be to raise the bar even further.?

Sir Stuart Hampson, Chairman of The John Lewis Partnership, added: ?I am delighted that Richard is joining the board of Waitrose. Waitrose is a leader in high quality fresh food and product innovation and Richard will play a key role in maintaining and developing the strength of our offer to customers. He brings indepth buying and marketing expertise in food retailing and strong personal leadership skills.?