Spicers appoint new development director

Spicers has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of business development director Adrian Reid

The strategic hire is the latest chapter in the firm’s bid to achieve 70% turnover growth in 2023, by helping dealers to thrive and be more profitable.

Under his new remit, Adrian will develop a pipeline of new business opportunities for the Ashton-under-Lyne headquartered brand – expansion which is expected to lead to further appointments in the future.

Adrian joins Spicers from his previous position as sales director at Nectere. There, Adrian was instrumental in doubling the size of the company’s turnover in three years – earning it a place on the FT 1000: ‘Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies’ and London Stock Exchange’s ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Britain’ lists.

Commenting on his move, Adrian said: “Spicers has been through a significant period of transition in order to ensure it’s a fit-for-the-future organisation – and one which is ideally-placed to become the industry’s wholesaler of choice.

“I want to leverage my knowledge of and relationships with dealers to help Spicers’ new and existing customers to thrive and be more profitable – by empowering them to trade more easily, and more efficiently.”

Steve Morley, sales director at Spicers, added: “Adrian brings a wealth of relevant experience to our team, having held previous leadership posts as well as a proven reputation for winning new business and growing existing customer accounts. He is passionate about helping dealers thrive in a fast-paced changing landscape, delving into customers’ nuances, and providing quality customer service in order to drive sustainable growth – something which is central to Spicers’ commercial strategy for the next three years.”

“The past three years have brought about the greatest changes our industry has seen in decades,” concluded Adrian. “Evolving working habits have altered the way procurement specialists work, as they want the freedom to order on their schedule. Dealers must therefore have a strong web offering and extended ranges of 500,000+ products if they’re to remain in business and have a robust proposition. I’m here to see that Spicers can help with that, and welcome the chance to speak to dealers about how we can help them both now and going forward.”

The Spicers brand, which has received a sizable investment to evolve its dealer provision from parent company, Paragon Group, kick-started its growth strategy in late 2022, with the appointment of group operations director Martin Weedall, and the launch of a dedicated trade counter service which serves all dealers in the Greater Manchester district and surrounding areas.