Martin Bell departs Director of E-commerce role at Hotel Chocolat and heads for Elemis
Martin Bell has left Hotel Chocolat, where he served as Director of E-commerce, to take on a new challenge at Elemist.
In a LinkedIn post, he said: “A week of very mixed emotions. On one hand I’m very sad to be saying goodbye to my teams and amazing colleagues at Hotel Chocolat which has been my home for the last four years.”
“On the other hand I’m ecstatic to be joining Elemis and for the huge opportunity ahead. The team have made me feel incredibly welcome over the last few months and I cannot wait to get started.”
Bell’s CV also includes stints at WHSmith (as Director of E-commerce), Mothercare (Head of E-commerce), and Tesco (Head of Online Trading - Electrical).
Kroger
Bill Bennett, meanwhile, has left Kroger where he held the role of Vice President, Head of E-commerce.
He has yet to reveal his next job, but says he will do so in the near future.
In a LinkedIn post, Bennett said: “After an amazing nearly three years, I’ve made the very tough decision to set off on a new adventure beyond the walls of Kroger.”
“We’ve had an incredible run over the time that I’ve been here. From managing through the craziness of the early pandemic, to welcoming those customers back in store as behaviour normalised, to now getting back to double digit sales growth, we’ve continued our relentless focus on the customer.”
He added: “As I reflect on what the Kroger team has accomplished together over this time, I’m truly astounded by the team’s tenacity, drive, and commitment to excellence.”
“We constantly say, “it takes a village”, “e-commerce is a team sport”, “we’re all in this together”, but as you take a look at some of the accomplishments we’ve achieved together, consider how incredibly cross functional and collaborative we’ve had to be to get these over the goal line.”
Bennett flagged up the following accomplishments from the last three years.
Kroger opened its first fulfilment centre powered by Ocado, and now scaled to seven total fulfilment centres and 12 spokes.
The retailer also launched the Boost membership programme, and entered the e-convenience space by launching the Kroger Delivery Now 30 minute delivery business.
And it grew and developed partnerships, with new programmes and capabilities, for instance, launching sushi and floral businesses on DoorDash.
Bennett concluded: “I can’t wait for what Kroger e-commerce has ahead.”
“The growth we’re currently seeing is built on solid business fundamentals, and loyal, sustainable customer behaviour. We have an incredibly exciting growth plan for 2023, leaning into proven areas of customer need.”
“While I’ll be watching from afar, I’ll be cheering on this team, anxious to see what they come up with next, all while I continue to leverage my wonderful Boost membership to get double fuel points, and receive grocery deliveries from my favourite blue van. I’ll post soon about my next adventure!”
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