New Asda chief customer officer Rachel Eyre will be replaced at Morrisons by BP’s Claire Farrant, who returns to retail two years after leaving Lidl.
Asda has poached Morrisons’ chief customer and marketing officer Rachel Eyre, who will join the retailer as chief customer officer following the departure of David Hills later this year.
Eyre joined Morrisons in 2021 from her role as group director of brand comms and creative at Sainsbury’s. Prior to her more than five years at Sainsbury’s she held a series of senior marketing roles at Barclays.
Reflecting on her appointment, Eyre described Asda as an “iconic brand with a long heritage as a consumer champion.”
“I look forward to working with Allan [Leighton, executive chair] and the rest of the team to ensure the voice of the customer is the beating heart of Asda as we re-establish ourselves as the lowest-priced full service supermarket in the country,” she said.
David Hills, who has served as Asda’s chief customer officer since September 2023, is leaving to join travel business Jet2.
Eyre joins Asda at a time of change for the supermarket, which earlier this year ditched its Aldi and Lidl price match scheme and brought back Rollback promotions. Hills told Marketing Week in February this move was to reaffirm Asda’s value position and return products “to the Asda Price that is loved and known” by the core customer base.
Asda executive chairman Allan Leighton said Eyre will “play a pivotal role in ensuring that the customer voice is our driving purpose” and demonstrating how schemes such as Rollback and Asda Price are delivering “honest value”.
Supermarket switch
Former Lidl marketing director and current vice-president of mobility and convenience Europe at BP, Claire Farrant, will join Morrisons as group marketing director, effective 3 June.
Farrant previously held senior marketing positions at Tesco, Woolworths and Kerry Foods for 18 years. She spent eight years at Lidl, latterly as UK marketing director.
“Claire has an outstanding record in UK grocery and her deep experience, clear customer focus and proven strategic marketing skills will make her a valuable new addition to our senior team,” said Morrisons CEO Rami Baitiéh.
In January, Morrisons reported its strongest quarterly performance since the start of 2021, following a year of “urgent reinvigoration”, particularly regarding loyalty.
Farrant will be joined by Matt McLellan, formerly vice-president of customer at Asda, who it was announced in February has been appointed to the newly created role of group data and media director at Morrisons. At Asda, he worked on customer initiatives such as the Cashpot for Schools with Joe Wickes.
