Stockport wholesaler appoints retail expert to Employee Trust Board

Stockport based wholesaler Parfetts has appointed retail industry expert, Helen Moreton, to its Employee Trust Board.

Founder and director of Boombox Consulting, Helen Moreton (pictured) has been an active part of the employee-owned sector for over twenty years in an operational and non-executive capacity. She previously spent 18 years at John Lewis Partnership in various independent and strategic roles and now works with several other employee-owned businesses in a chairing, coaching, advisory, and developmental capacity.

Parfetts’ Employee Trust board sits separately from the executive board and represents the interests of the Trust and and the Stockport headquartered wholesaler’s 1,000 employees nationwide.

Martin Race, chair of the Parfetts Employee Trust Board, said:

“I am delighted to welcome Helen to the Employee Trust Board and am sure with her experience of employee-owned businesses that she will prove to be a great asset to Parfetts.”

Commenting on her appointment, Helen Moreton, said:

“I am delighted to be appointed by Parfetts as an independent trustee of their Employee Ownership Trust. It is great to join this established and well-respected employee-owned company. I look forward to working with the other trustees and board as they continue their commitment toward a better way of doing business. After 18 years in John Lewis Partnership and Waitrose, I also look forward to working in retail again!

“As their independent trustee, I will use my knowledge and experience, alongside my passion for employee ownership, to stimulate debate and inform decision-making for the benefit of the business and its beneficiaries.”

First established as a family business in Stockport in 1980, a majority stake in the business was sold to an Employee Trust Board in 2008, before Parfetts became wholly employee-owned in 2018. Guy Swindell, joint managing director of Parfetts, concluded:

“The trust board plays an important role for the business, and Helen is a great appointment. Employee ownership is a driving force in our current and future growth. It allows us to take longer-term strategic decisions and invest back into the business to help us improve our service and protect retailer margins.”