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Bestway appoints new trading director for booze retail role
Bestway, the independent cash and carry and wholesaler that snapped up Conviviality’s retail businesses out of administration last year, has appointed an interim trading director to oversee product buying across its booze retail, in the latest in a series of internal moves.
Former Scotmid commercial director Mark Owen has joined the retail business as interim trading director at Bestway Retail to oversee the product ranges across the Bargain Booze and Wine Rack franchises, corporate stores and Select and Central Convenience corporate stores.
Owen, who spent 13 years at The Co-operative Group, most recently as head of commercial & sales development before joining Scotmid, will report to chief retail officer, Andy Cresswell.
Owen is taking over from Kenton Burchell, who has been promoted to trading director at Bestway Wholesale, following Dawood Pervez’s promotion to md of Bestway Wholesale and Retail last December.
Burchell joined Conviviality Retail in 2014 from Musgrave, taking charge of the drinks offer for Bargain Booze and Wine Rack as well as the convenience offer for Select Convenience. He moved to Bestway following the company’s acquisition of the Conviviality business in April 2018 for £7.25 million.
It is the latest in a series of management changes in the group.
In November, Bestway retail md David Robinson, who was Conviviality Retail’s managing director during its acquisition by Bestway, left the company and Cresswell, managing director of retail of MRH, the UK’s largest service station operator, was confirmed as the new head of retail in January. At the same time Tony Holmes was appointed to the new role of retail director at Bestway Wholesale, to oversee retail sales for the best-one Symbol Group, as well as taking responsibility for retail business development.
The Bestway Group was founded in 1976 and today comprises Bestway Wholesale, symbol group Best-one, which operates the franchises of over 1,113 convenience stores, Bestway Foodservice, and two businesses in Pakistan, United Bank Limited, the second largest private bank in Pakistan and the country’s largest cement producer Bestway Cement. It also operates Wells Pharmacy, the third largest pharmacy business in the UK.