Simon Eastwood, programme director at Morrisons has been appointed as the new chief operating officer at Southern Co-operative following the successful festive period and will join the company on March 14th.

CEO of The Southern Co-operative, Mark Smith, said: “We are delighted to welcome Simon to The Southern Co-operative team. His breadth of retail experience and understanding of the food market across the south of England will make a significant contribution to continuing the success of our food business.”

Figures show that the supermarket’s Christmas trade was solid showing like-for-like sales increasing 4.7%, with total sales 5.4% in the three weeks to January 3rd. It put its achievements down to competitive pricing and “tailoring the right range to the right store.”

Mr Eastwood added: “The Southern Co-Operative is an amazing business and this is a great time to be joining a growing, ethically-led independent retailer.”