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- Woolworths Group (WOW) is expected to make a big push for online sales after shuffling its management team
- Long-time buying director Peter McNamara will assume a newly created position to support the company’s online sector, WooliesX
- WooliesX was created in 2017 to mix online sales with data insights to cooperate with supermarket suppliers
- Peter’s newly created position will be Chief Commercial Officer of WooliesX
- Shares in Woolworths gained 1.2 per cent over Tuesday trade and closed $36.38
Australian powerhouse Woolworths Group (WOW) is expected to make a big online sales push after a reported management change.
Woolworths supermarket suppliers were supposedly notified this week that one of its two long-standing buying directors would be changing positions.
Peter McNamara, who has been with Woolworths since 1996, will be moving from his position as Director of Long-life Goods, to a newly made role: Chief Commercial Officer of WooliesX.
WooliesX is the company’s digital sector of business, first formed in mid-2017. The sector was initially built on combining digital sales and data for ease of suppliers.
“At Woolworths, we’ve been looking at how we evolve our buying and merchandising teams to best meet the needs of our customers and supplier partners,” Woolworths Supermarkets Managing Director Claire Peters said.
“We know that our customers are increasingly embracing our digital and e-commerce offerings in combination with visiting our physical stores,”
“We’ve also heard from our supply partners that we could improve how we help them grow their business with us through the Woolworths ecosystem”.
As Peter McNamara transitions to his new role, Director of Fresh Foods, Paul Harker, will assume new responsibilities to cooperate with suppliers.
“Peter’s appointment to the new role and Paul’s role across buying and replenishment will help further unlock greater collaboration and partnership between the various parts of the Woolworths business,” Claire added.
Peter will now work alongside WooliesX Managing Director Amanda Bardwell — operating digital sales, the ‘Everyday Rewards’ program, and more.
Amanda took the reins at WooliesX in 2017 when she saw success under its previous name: Woolworths Food Digital.
“We understand that technology is transforming the way that we can connect with our customers and so we’ve recently created a Woolworths Food Digital team,” Amanda said in late 2016.
“We connect technology, data and insights to help make our customers’ shopping experience more personal and easier”.
Shares in Woolworths gained 1.2 per cent over Tuesday trade to close at $36.38 each.
