Fresh food supplier outlines ambitious growth targets

AMBITIOUS growth plans have been announced by fresh produce supplier Crawshaws, which recently acquired the Gabbotts Farm portfolio in Manchester, just five months after chief executive Noel Collett took the helm.

Over the next 18 months the Crawshaw Group will invest £25m creating 375 Yorkshire jobs. Four more stores are set to open by Christmas, bringing the total to 39, as part of a wider £200m package.

Former Lidl chief of operations, Mr Collett will oversee wide-ranging expansion plans to open a total of 200 new stores creating an estimated 2,500 jobs by 2022.

He said: “We are searching for 450 management positions, 400 butchers, 900 general assistants and we’re investing heavily in helping young people gain employment by taking on 350 apprentices.”

This announcement follows the recent opening of its new stores in the Leeds Merrion Centre and Bolton town centre, where the firm has been successful, exceeded customer footfall and sales expectations, according to the firm.

Crawshaws recently acquired the Gabbotts Farm portfolio in Manchester for £3.9m, bringing a further 11 stores under the group’s umbrella.

Mr Collett, who spent more than 12 years at Lidl and helped grow the chain from 200 to 600 stores, said: “I am thrilled to be involved in what I believe is the most exciting and scalable project on the current retail landscape.

“Our target of 200 stores is just the tip of the iceberg, with our unique fresh meat and food-to-go proposition, there’s nothing to say that this scalable model can’t reach 500 or 1,000 nationwide. 

“We have some fantastic people in our business and we are now looking to grow our team considerably, so recruitment is clearly a key focus for us at the moment.”