BP has announced the appointment of Lidl’s UK marketing director Claire Farrant as its new vice president of marketing for its mobility and convenience retail business in Europe.

The petrol station operator said that the appointment of Farrant forms part of a wider drive by the company to invest in its convenience retail business. BP has recently also hired oanne Hall from Sainsburys as its UK retail operations director and Teresa Lindley from Waitrose as UK trading director.

Farrant will report to Tracey Clements, senior vice president of mobility and convenience retail Europe, and will focus on enhancing customer engagement, loyalty and digital transformation across the European retail business, BP said.

Announcing her hire, BP praised Farrant for playing a crucial role in significantly expanding the supermarket's UK market and leading on the company's Lidl Plus rewards programme. Prior to Lidl, Farrant worked at Tesco for a decade in a range of senior roles.

Tracey 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.”

Farrant added: “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.”

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