Simply Fresh names O’Loughlin as chief operating officer

By Liz Wells in People moves 9th July 2020

Simply Fresh has appointed Michael O’Loughlin as chief operating officer and member of the board of directors.

O’Loughlin brings more than two decades of retailing experience to Simply Fresh and Simply Local. In 2008 he was appointed managing director of Applegreen UK, growing the business to 75 sites, and in 2017 O’Loughlin moved to MFG as managing director of acquisitions and business development.

O’Loughlin has also served on the independent board of the Association of Convenience Stores and continues to hold non-executive positions for Eurofood Services and the Irish healthy food chain Freshly Chopped UK.

He said: “I am delighted to be joining Simply Fresh and SimplyLocal. I’ve been a brand advocate for many years, regularly promoting it to Irish industry colleagues, so I consider this position a natural fit.

“As a retailer, I’ve carefully appraised the Simply Fresh with Sainsbury’s proposition and its position in the UK market. I truly believe that this is a hugely beneficial partnership to our retailers and most importantly their customers. This partnership guarantees the very best of Sainsbury’s, bringing together their globally recognised brand and logistics with the unique and tailored appeal of the award-winning Simply Fresh and Simply Local brands. The market response so far has been excellent.”

Kash Khera, previously chief operating officer, will assume a new role as business development director. The role will see him devoting more time to driving store and range innovation to further improve the business.

Khera said: “The opportunity for the convenience sector and in particular Simply Fresh and Simply Local is vast and I’m delighted to invite Michael on to the board as COO. Michael’s people-first, highly customer-focused mindset and strategic thinking will be of great value to Simply Fresh and Simply Local and the retailers we serve. As the company enters its next chapter of innovation and expanded store growth, independent retailers will truly benefit from his experience and knowledge and I’m personally very excited to be working alongside him.”

O’Loughlin joins Simply Fresh on 31 August.