The Federation of Independent Retailers (NFRN) has welcomed the announcement that former Booker chief executive Charles Wilson is joining the Menzies Distribution board as a non-executive director.
The move came after Mr Wilson acquired a 10 per cent stake in the news wholesaler.
Commenting, National President Stuart Reddish said:
This is a hugely positive move. Charles has been a good friend of independent retailers and on behalf of the NFRN, I very much welcome his appointment to the Menzies board.
“Charles is extremely well respected within the independent retail sector and will bring with him a wealth of retail experience and expertise. At Booker, his ethos was always about the customer, seeing retailers as individuals rather than numbers.
We hope he will bring some fresh thinking and a pro-active approach towards addressing the issues faced by independent news retailers.
The NFRN now looks forward to working closely with Charles and with the rest of the Menzies board to ensure that the needs of our members are a high priority on the news wholesaler’s agenda.
In 2019, at the NFRN Awards to celebrate the Federation’s centenary, Mr Wilson was recognised for his Outstanding Contribution to Retailing.
Mr Wilson retired from his role at Tesco, Booker’s parent company, in February this year.