BP has hired Lidl UK marketing director Claire Farrant to drive growth across the petrol giant’s European retail business.
Farrant, who previously worked at Tesco, will join BP as VP of marketing for mobility and convenience and will report into SVP of the division Tracey Clements, who also used to work at the grocery giant.
Farrant joined Lidl in 2015 and played a crucial role in significantly growing the discounter’s market share. She helped to streamline brand consistency and launched the grocer’s reward programme Lidl Plus.
At BP she is tasked with leading the “evolution of a transformative marketing strategy to drive growth” and will focus on enhancing customer engagement, loyalty and digital transformation and leveraging strategic partnerships.
Farrant’s appointment is part of a wider drive by BP to invest in its convenience retail proposition. It hired ex-Sainsbury’s executive Joanne Hall as its UK retail operations director earlier this month and snapped up Waitrose lifer Teresa Lindley as UK trading director at the turn of the year.
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Clements said: “We are delighted to welcome Claire to BP. Her exceptional leadership and proven track record of driving growth in the competitive supermarket sector make her a valuable addition to our team. Claire’s arrival comes at a pivotal moment as we evolve our marketing strategy to align our convenience retail offering with changing consumer behaviour on the roadside.”
Claire said: “I’m looking forward to working closely with the team to develop and implement a strong marketing strategy across our nine European markets. We’re putting the customer at the very heart of everything we do, focusing on growing our brilliant loyalty programmes and delivering an outstanding, convenient retail experience.”
Convenience is one of BP’s five strategic transition growth engines, along with EV charging, hydrogen, bioenergy, and renewables and power.
By 2030, the petrol giant is aiming to double convenience gross margin and wants to increase its number of convenience sites globally to more than 3,500.
