Asda promotes spirit buyer to head up wine team

Asda has promoted its spirit buyer Lynsey Grace, who will head up the retailer’s wine team following the departure of senior buyer of wine, Ed Ashley.

Ashley has left the company to take up a wine industry job in Australia, an Asda spokesman confirmed.

Grace, whose new role is senior buyer of wine, joined Asda in 2008 as a merchandise planner before moving to the wine team in 2010 where she covered sparkling wine and champagne, Spain Portugal and North America for three years. She subsequently moved within the wider BWS team to a role buying beer and cider, and later spirits, before returning to head up the wine team.

Asda’s BWS category is headed up by Tracy Ford. The appointment is the latest in a series of moves across the retailers, with Spar wine buyer Daphne Teremetz moving to Waitrose last month, following the departure of Cat Lomax, who joined Majestic as senior buyer in May.

Victoria Mason, who launched Outdoor Horticulture in Waitrose, has also joined the Waitrose wine team, taking on responsibility for South Africa, Loire, bag-in-box, small Bottles, low alcohol and Kosher wines, while English wine buyer Rebecca Hull MW will go full-time and take on extra responsibility for Champagne and Sparkling wines.