Waitrose has hired Emily Wood to be its new head of beers, wines & spirits and soft drinks.
Wood joins Waitrose from Marks & Spencer, where she was head of meat, poultry, fish, dairy & deli. She replaces Pierpaolo Petrassi, who left Waitrose in June after 16 years.
She bought “a wealth of commercial expertise, strong strategic vision, and exceptional leadership to the category, alongside a personal passion for the food and drink industry”, said Waitrose.
“I am delighted to be joining Waitrose at the end of October to lead such an iconic and well-loved category,” said Wood. “I look forward to working with the team to drive innovation and build on the strong market reputation.”
Meanwhile, Wood will be joined by James Bone, a 25-year Waitrose veteran, who is to take up the role of wine trading manager. Bone was most recently trading manager for core grocery & change lead for trading at Waitrose.
In his new role, he will work alongside Laura Tudor, who has taken the position of trading manager, spirits, beers and soft drinks. Previously, Tudor was Waitrose’s branded innovation manager.
The changes come amid a broader shift in how retailers are thinking about, ranging and merchandising drinks in store.
Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose have all combined their BWS and soft drinks buying teams into a single unit, reflecting increased category blurring.
In July, Waitrose launched co-merchandised bays in partnership with Heineken and Coca-Cola to take advantage of World Cup shopping missions.
The bays were a response to “how our customers actually shop for major tournaments like the World Cup”, Waitrose beer and cider buyer Jourdan Gabbini told The Grocer at the time.
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