Filshill makes two new appointments to grow KeyStore symbol group

By David Shrimpton in Featured, Industry News 8th March 2024

Glasgow-based wholesaler JW Filshill has made two new appointments to help further develop its KeyStore convenience division across Scotland and the north of England.

Shirley Ruane (below, left) and Elaine Feeney (below, right) have both been appointed to the newly created positions of sales managers, in an announcement timed to coincide with International Women’s Day.

Ruane, who has been with the business for eight years as regional development manager, takes responsibility for the west of Scotland and northern England.

Feeney will look after the east and north of Scotland, including the islands.

Craig Brown, chief sales and marketing officer at Filshill, said: “This is the perfect time to announce these new appointments and celebrate the success not just of Shirley and Elaine in progressing their careers with Filshill, but also the many other inspirational women within our business who make such a valuable contribution.

“Both Shirley and Elaine have worked hard in recent years to earn their promotions and we look forward to watching them progress even further as they lead their respective teams to develop our KeyStore convenience store division, working with ambitious and tech-savvy retailers who want to grow their businesses.

“Having such strong and experienced regional development teams in place, as more retailers choose KeyStore as the best solution for achieving increased profit and margin, gives us confidence in stimulating growth for our brand and customers in a competitive convenience marketplace.”

Feeney, who also takes responsibility for Filshill’s Click & Collect operation in her new role, said it was encouraging to see more women in senior roles at the wholesaler and she was not phased to be managing an all-male team.

“While wholesale continues to be a male-dominated industry it’s certainly made inroads.”

Ruane said of her promotion: “I made it clear that I was ambitious to develop my career with the business and step up to a more challenging managerial role.”

Filshill, one of Scotland’s oldest independent food and drink wholesalers, relocated from Hillington to Westway Park near Glasgow Airport in March 2023.