Shopper marketing specialist MARS\Y&R has appointed Simon Spicer as channel leader. This represents Simon’s first foray into the agency world after a twenty year career working in a range of retailer and supplier roles.
Simon will head up the agency’s channel function and will work with executive planning director, Paul Porter to develop the offer for clients. The agency has ambitions to grow its channel operation across Europe and to emulate the success of sister agency, MARS Advertising in the US where clients view it as a unique value added service.
His experience covers the entire gamut of shopper insight, trade marketing, category development, buying, sales and store operation roles across a number of sectors including food, home furnishings, beauty and entertainment.
Simon joins MARS\Y&R after almost five years at Energiser Wilkinson Sword working first as UK category development controller and then as business account manager. His commercial achievements there were notable and include securing new range listings, double digit growth in sales, gross profit and share of shelf. He led category reviews and fixture improvement projects working in partnership with leading multiple retailers.
Other supplier experience includes three plus years at United Biscuits working across insight, trade marketing and category development roles. He played a key part in setting strategy and planning execution in impulse, leading a team of 100 sales staff across convenience, retail, cash and carry, delivered wholesale and foodservice channels. As at Energiser Wilkinson Sword he delivered impressive commercial results.
Simon has also held a number of retailer roles. He was a senior merchandiser at Virgin Megastores working as part of the buying team managing sales, profit and availability in computer games, DVD and mobile phones. He started his full-time career as a graduate trainee home furnishings buyer and mobile phone project manager at Marks and Spencer.
Darren Keen, MARS\Y&R managing director comments: “My ambition is for us to be the very best shopper marketing agency in Europe. To do this we need to be able to offer our fmcg clients top class channel expertise as well as an understanding of the operational and buying strategies of the leading multiple retailers.
“To do this we need to hire client-side people who have brilliant channel knowledge not just across grocery – but also convenience, on trade and others – and who can build relationships with key retailers on our behalf in the UK and Europe. Simon has massive depth of experience in exactly the areas that matter to our clients. To say that he has shopper in his DNA is an understatement. His appointment will give us a market-leading advantage. It’s a hugely exciting time in the development of MARS\Y&R and I look forward to putting Simon’s insight to work for the benefit of our clients.”