Lidl’s top marketer exits for BP

BP has appointed Claire Farrant as its vice-president of marketing for its retail division in Europe.

Farrant brings significant retail experience to the oil giant having spent a decade in senior roles at Tesco prior to joining Lidl in 2015 as its marketing director. She spent eight years at Lidl transforming the challenger supermarket into one of the ‘big six’ supermarkets in the UK.

At BP she has been tasked with enhancing customer engagement and loyalty and instigating a digital transformation across its European retail business while continuing to leverage strategic partnerships.

She is the third hire by BP to invest in its convenience retail proposition following the appointments of Joanne Hall from Sainsbury’s to head up its UK retail operations and Teresa Lindley from Waitrose as its UK trading director.

An ‘own goal’ or the right decision? Experts react to Lidl’s victory over TescoFarrant will report into Tracey Clements, senior vice-president of marketing at BP, who says Farrant’s “exceptional leadership” and proven track record of driving growth make her a “valuable” addition to the 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,” says Clements.

Commenting on her appointment, Farrant adds: “I’m thrilled to join BP at such an exciting time in its retail transformation. 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.”

Marketing Week has approached Lidl for comment on its plans to replace Farrant’s role.