Neil Ogilvie joins as Business Development Manager covering Aberdeenshire to Kirkcaldy. Neil has been in retail for over 30 years following roles at several leading retail brands.
He says, “SPAR is the most recognised symbol group in the country and the opportunity to join a Scottish company, with a strong family background was an opportunity too good to refuse. I am looking forward to working in partnership with our community focused independent retailers and supporting new retailers as they join the CJ Lang family.”
Craig Lynn returns as Head of Recruitment and Key Accounts. He will be responsible for new business SPAR accounts and wholesale business. Craig has been involved with convenience retailing for the last 20 years originally starting his career with CJ Lang as a Field Sales Executive. He moved to United Wholesale Scotland to head up recruitment and store development in 2015 where he was responsible for store standards and creating a retailer recruitment framework.
Craig says, “CJ Lang has a professional standard that is highly regarded in the wider industry, and I am delighted to return to the company and focus on leading retailer recruitment.”
“These two new appointments reflect the growth of the company over the last 12 months, and allows the business to put dedicated focus on retail recruitment. We now have a full-strength, excellent team in place to ensure CJ Lang continues to be Scotland’s leading symbol group”, comments SPAR Scotland Wholesale Sales Director Steve Irons.
“We have ambitious plans to grow the independent side of our business and are positioned well to deliver a truly Scottish offering to grow market share and to support our customers further. I’m looking forward to working with Craig, Neil and the rest of our highly experienced sales team in the months ahead”, Steve Irons adds.
Based in Dundee, SPAR Scotland is the country’s largest independent retailing and distribution businesses and services operating over 300 independent and company-owned SPAR stores.
Source: SPAR UK regional wholesaler in Scotland
The UK became a SPAR member in 1956 when SPAR International granted the SPAR licence to a group of independent wholesalers. As a result, there are now five regional partners in the UK. A central office in London provides national marketing and buying services for the group.
SPAR has led the highly competitive convenience market in the UK for many years. Always innovative, the five regional partners continue to grow the brand. SPAR UK comprises independently owned licensed retailers and company-owned stores. These include forecourts, airports, train stations, city centres, and local neighbourhood stores.
