Ascona Group welcomes retail pioneer to its board

At the age of 21, Graves began his career in groceries at Spar, where he would go onto spend the next 16 years and finish his time at the business as a sales director.

After gaining extensive experience at Spar, he founded Costcutter in 1986. This unique concept revolutionized the grocery sector through its innovative network of convenience stores that provided a platform for independent retailers to compete with larger supermarkets through collective buying and marketing.

Graves served as chairman of the grocery group from its inception until 2012.

During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in the expansion of the group, from one store in 1986 to over 1,700 in 2012, as it evolved with operations across the country.

For the last six years, Graves has served as chairman of the advisory board of Nisa, a key partner of Ascona Group.

In keeping with Ascona’s strategy to develop the next evolution of roadside retail destinations with convenience stores, Graves will play a role supporting the executive team to realise its strategic ambitions.

Darren Briggs, founder and chief executive of Ascona Group, commented: “We are thrilled to welcome Colin to the Ascona family. His unparalleled expertise in the convenience retail sector and visionary leadership are exactly what we need to help us execute our strategic ambitions.

“As a fellow founder of a business, Colin’s track record of success at Costcutter speaks for itself, and we are confident that his insights will be invaluable to us all as we continue to innovate and expand our world-class operations across the country.”

Graves added: “I am very excited to be joining Ascona, a business I have admired for a long time and watched closely as it has grown.

“The business commitment to delivering quality, value and convenience to road users and communities across the country resonate with my own values and I look forward to working with Darren and the team on the next phase of its story.”