Majestic appoints new head buyer

Majestic has promoted its senior buyer Cat Lomax to head up its wine buying across the group, following the departure of Matt Pymm.

Lomax, who was named DB’s Young Achiever of the Year 2011, joined the company as senior buyer from Waitrose last September and previously spent five years at Direct Wines as a buyer.

As part of the new role, she will oversee Majestic’s own-label wines, including Definition and the new Majestic Loves entry-level range, which she helped to create, and its focus on small parcel wines. In addition, she will continue to buy wines for New Zealand, Burgundy, Champagne and Beaujolais, and the USA.

Buying & merchandising director Richard Weaver said he was delighted at the “ideal” appointment.

“We’re building an exciting, dynamic buying team at Majestic and it will be great to have Cat at the helm,” he said. “She has been instrumental over the last year in overseeing our biggest categories, introducing our most successful Parcels and WIGIGs and revamping many of our key ranges.”

The wine retailer has also recently boosted the responsibilities of Weaver and operations director Rob Farnworth to support the Group CEO and Retail MD Rowan Gormley following the departure of John Colley in May.