Stuart Fritz who has been with premium spirits importer and distributer, Mangrove UK for almost nine years will be promoted into the newly-created position of Commercial Director in mid-November.
The role will over-arch the marketing and sales teams to foster a more cohesive approach for the future. As Stuart previously headed up the marketing team, there will be a vacancy for a Head of Marketing role, which Mangrove will be recruiting for in the near future. Key responsibilities will comprise of strategic analysis of the UK market and spirit trends, expansion of the brand creation strategy, development of new partnerships and bringing new brands to Mangrove as well as advancing the growth of National Retail and On-trade.
Recruited from Lab in Soho where he was the General Manager, Stuart has worked in a number of roles during his time at Mangrove including sales, marketing and as a product manager, he considers this the ideal grounding for this new job, as he has a wide knowledge of the market and the key focuses of the business.
Amongst his successes at Mangrove is the launch of Mangrove’s whisky portfolio, which includes The Glendronach, BenRiach and Glenglassaugh and the successful spearheading of Mangrove’s first brand creation Siren’s Call, which is now stocked in Tesco UK-wide.
Nick Gillett MD of Mangrove said:
“We are a growing business and to continue to grow you need to empower your people to develop ideas and react to the market quickly as well as create long-term strategies and efficiencies. This new role will allow Stuart the time and autonomy to take action and drive our business ambitions and goals forward. He is passionate about the drinks industry and he is creative and practical, I am confident he’ll provide the direction we need to continue to grow.”
Stuart Fritz said:
“With a background in both marketing and sales, I believe the creation of this role, is an insightful development to align the two departments to both support business growth and maximise future opportunities. I’m looking forward to getting started and I have a lot of exciting plans already. In the past I’ve been quite hands-on with the trade and that’s given me great insights into future trends and developments and now I’ll have the time and resources to fully explore these opportunities.”