Former Coles Express director Richard Pearson will join Caltex Australia as part of the company’s “Freedom of Convenience” strategy.
Starting from August 1, Mr Pearson will hold the position of Executive General Manager, Convenience Retail. His track record in disruptive business models with a focus on fresh food was important in his selection for the role, according to Caltex.
CEO Julian Segal welcomed Mr Pearson to the role, and said the appointment came during a key time in Caltex’s expansion into the convenience market.
“[He] joins a growing team of retail talent to drive the strategy and deliver a better and more convenient option to customers,” Mr Segal said.
“Each week, we serve more than three million customers throughout Australia who are looking for options to make life more convenient, which led us to rethink and reinvent convenience.
“We recognise that our strategy requires the right talent to both develop and deploy the right offering for our customers, so we’re delighted to welcome Richard to the Retail team at Caltex.”
New Foodary update
Another two Foodary outlets opened on Wednesday, bringing the total number of locations for Caltex’s latest brand concept to nine, nationwide. The new stores are located in Beaufort (Vic) and Ascot (WA). Last month the sixth and seventh Foodary stores opened in Holden Hill (SA) and Bomaderry (Vic).
C&I Week has approached Caltex for a list of upcoming store openings.
Tips and rumours
Speculation about a prospective split between Caltex Australia’s Convenience and Fuel business segments will remain unanswered until completion of an efficiency review, currently underway.
The review was first announced in the Caltex Australia 2016 full-year report.
A recent column in The Australian suggested the review was implemented to determine “whether the company should be divided in two”.
A spokesperson for Caltex Australia told C&I Week the claim was mere speculation, and that the results of the efficiency review would appear in the company’s half-yearly report, due for release in August.
It was also suggested the company would instigate a round of staff redundancies, however the unconfirmed rumour did not venture to guess in which part of the business such cutbacks might occur.