in transforming Woolworths Supermarkets and building the foundations of B2B and Everyday Needs,” said Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci.  “As the MD of Woolworths Supermarkets, Claire elevated the focus on our customers while also materially improving our retail operations. Since September 2020 Claire has helped to guide the transformation of Big W, establish our end-to-end meat business Greenstock, and progress our partnerships including Endeavour Group, PFD and Ampol,” he said. Banducci paid tribute to “the biggest imprint” Peters will leave on the business – “her care for team and communities, on show in the leadership role she played during the repeated waves of Covid, and her purposeful work on reconciliation with the support of the First Nations Advisory Board”. Coles CMO Lisa Ronson steps down  Lisa Ronson, chief marketing officer at Coles, has announced on Linkedin her departure from the company.  Ronson joined Coles in 2019 and worked in different sectors throughout her career including FMCG, payments, banking, retail, tourism and supermarkets. The CMO says she wants to pursue new business opportunities while also focusing on her directorships and her new position as an adjunct professor of marketing at Deakin University. During her time working at Coles, Ronson and her team’s achievements include leading the digital transformation of marketing communications, launching the Coles Media business, landing the ‘Value the Australian Way’ brand platform and ‘Together to Zero’ sustainability platform, according to her post on Linkedin.  “It’s with sadness today that I announce I’ve decided to move on from Coles Group to pursue a number of exciting new career interests,” Ronson wrote.  “I would like to express my thanks for all the support and opportunities Coles has given me over the past three and half years. Being part of Coles’s success during some very challenging times and seeing the company grow into one of Australia’s most trusted brands is something I feel immensely proud to have been a part of.”  Last month, Coles said it would create its own specialised marketing agency named “Smith Street” and Ronson is one of the board representatives.  Ronson is leaving in late September and hasn’t revealed much about her future plans. Leah Weckert, the current chief executive of commercial and Coles Express, will oversee the marketing team. JB Hi-Fi NZ hires new MD Electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi believes there is a “significant opportunity” to expand its New Zealand business after a strategic review of the market. As it unveiled a record group-wide trading profit, driven almost exclusively by its core Australian business, the company revealed the appointment of a new MD in New Zealand, Tim Edwards, who has worked with The Warehouse for more than a decade, including seven as CEO of appliance retailer Noel Leeming. “Over the next three years, the group will be investing in improving the JB New Zealand customer offer, refreshing the store network, opening new stores and upgrading its online platform,” group CEO Terry Smart said in an earnings release. JB Hi-Fi’s New Zealand sales grew by 0.3 per cent to NZ$262.4 million in the June year, with comparable sales up by the same amount. E-commerce revenue grew by 56.7 per cent to NZ$43.3 million, accounting for 16.5 per cent of all local sales. Televisions, game hardware and smart home products were the key growth categories. Total group revenue for the year rose by 3.5 per cent to A$9.23 billion for the year, with profit after tax up by 7.7 per cent to $544.9 million. The company’s Australian business saw sales rise by 4 per cent to A$6.2 billion while comparable sales were up by 3.4 per cent. The Good Guys subsidiary posted sales of A$2.79 billion (up 2.7 per cent) with its online business growing by 53.7 per cent to $397 million. Smart said the results “reinforce” the trust customers have in the retailer’s brands. “Our ongoing strategy of providing customers with the best value and outstanding service every day will ensure our brands continue to deliver for our customers and remain a destination of choice into the future.”