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Endeavour Group has today announced its new Merchandise operating model alongside a finalised leadership team. The changes are designed to make it easier for trade partners to do business - with clearer commercial arrangements, simpler ways of working together and a sharper focus on growing categories.
Recognising that trade partnerships are the backbone of its retail network, Endeavour Group has integrated its merchandise function directly into Dan Murphy’s and BWS. The new structure moves the business to a category-led approach, with dedicated brand General Managers taking direct accountability for category strategy, ranging and pricing.
The updated operating model reinforces Endeavour Group’s commitment to its Trade Partner Charter, ensuring the business is a more responsive, collaborative, and communicative partner.
For Endeavour Group's more than 2,000 trade partners, the new model means it'll be easier to get things done - with clearer ownership across categories and quicker decision-making that's tailored to the customers of each brand. Sitting behind these brand-specific teams will be a central Merchandise team focused on driving supply chain and operational efficiencies for all partners.
Under Dan Murphy's Managing Director Benjamin Ward, Andrew Shedden has been appointed General Manager, Merchandise. A deeply respected figure in Australia's wine industry, Shedden brings extensive senior leadership experience across Endeavour Group's premium and luxury portfolios. In addition to leading the banner's category strategies, Shedden will continue to oversee the Langtons business.
Under Shedden’s leadership, the Dan Murphy’s merchandise team comprises:
- Kylie Couper - Head of Wine: Bringing more than 25 years of commercial leadership across global companies, Couper will focus on working side-by-side with trade partners to drive category innovation and sustainable growth.
- Sarah Hall - Head of Spirits & Complementary Categories: With over 25 years in the industry, Hall has been instrumental in driving customer-centric innovation since 2021 and will continue to elevate trade partner collaboration across these dynamic portfolios.
- Harriet Wischer - Head of Beer & Premix: Returning to the retail team after successfully leading Beverages across the Hotels business, Wischer brings deep, multi-channel category knowledge and strategic capability to support brewing partners.
- Alex Schutt - Senior Customer Planning: Transitioning from Trade Planning, Schutt will integrate the end-to-end customer plan, ensuring trade partner activations are seamlessly executed across Dan Murphy's digital and physical ecosystem.
The Langton’s team remains the same, with Tamara Grischy reporting into Shedden.
Ward highlighted: “This structure allows Dan Murphy’s to operate with ultimate agility. By pairing these experienced leaders directly with our trade partner network, we can co-create impactful trade plans and unlock new value for our customers faster than ever before.”
Under BWS Managing Director, Jeanette Fenske is now Gill Webb, who has been appointed General Manager, Merchandise. Webb brings a wealth of international and domestic retail expertise to the role, spanning senior merchandise, strategy, and transformation roles in the UK and Australia, alongside her recent leadership of Endeavour’s core Beer and Cider categories.
The BWS Merchandise team comprises of:
- Carmen Fellows - Head of Beer & Premix: Backed by extensive merchandise transformation and strategy experience across both the UK and Australia, Fellows will lead trade partner engagements to capture evolving consumer trends.
- Georgia Stott - Head of Spirits & Complementary Categories: Moving from Range & Space, Stott leverages strong cross-banner leadership to maximise visibility and promotional impact for trade partners.
- Himanshu Batta - Senior Customer Planning Lead: Joining from the Ultra Convenience business, Batta will guide the omnichannel customer strategy, ensuring seamless trade partner visibility across BWS digital and physical store footprints.
- Head of Wine: Final recruitment is currently underway with an appointment to be announced shortly.
Fenske added: “BWS is all about local relevance and convenience. This lean, focused merchandise team ensures we can collaborate with our trade partners on hyper-targeted strategies that resonate directly with the BWS customer profile."
Supporting both the Dan Murphy's and BWS merchandise teams is a central Endeavour Retail function, responsible for the shared processes, pricing frameworks, and strategic capability that underpin the new model.
Tristan Butt will take the reins as General Manager, Merchandise - Endeavour Retail. Butt joins from WillPowders, where he is Managing Director, APAC. With over 20 years of global experience, he has a strong track record of driving growth across retail, FMCG, and e-commerce.
To ensure a smooth transition, Butt will work three days per week from 1 June before moving to full-time on 12 August. Currently in the role, Nikki Bull will continue to provide leadership and transition support through this period.
The Endeavour Retail merchandise team comprises:
- Sara Nesci - Head of Merchandise Operations: Nesci leads the merchandise engine room, focused on building the processes and teams needed to turn joint strategies into results on the ground.
- Chris Austin - Head of Range & Space: A 20-year retail veteran, Austin ensures shelves are optimised for performance, creating the right space for products that resonate with customers.
- Rob Carter - Head of Pricing & Value: Carter leads pricing and value initiatives, making sure Endeavour's brands remain competitive and relevant to customers in a challenging economic climate.
- Leigh Firkin - Head of Commercial Partnerships (Interim): Firkin oversees commercial partner frameworks, ensuring relationships are sustainable, compliant, and built for long-term growth.
- Izaac Woodforde-Smith - Senior Manager - Business Dev & Growth: Woodforde-Smith leads merchandise strategy across insights, strategic growth, and business development.
The new structure is effective immediately, with transitional arrangements underway to ensure absolute business continuity for all trade partner operations.
ENDS.
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About Endeavour Group
Endeavour Group is Australia’s leading retail drinks and hospitality business, with more than 28,000 team members united around the group’s purpose of "creating a more sociable future together." Its portfolio includes brands such as Dan Murphy’s, BWS, as well as the nation’s largest portfolio of hotels – under ALH Hotels – including many Australian icons such as Brisbane’s Breakfast Creek Hotel and Melbourne’s Young & Jackson Hotel. In total Endeavour Group has more than 2,000 retail stores and hotels across Australia.
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