13 March 2013: Global recruitment firm Michael Page has announced Warren Wilmot, Chief Executive Officer of 7-Eleven, as the winner of the 2013 Michael Page Retail Executive Award. In taking out the distinction, Mr. Wilmot receives the inaugural title as well as an exclusive place on the 2013 Westfield World Retail Study Tour, where he will spend two weeks immersed in five world-class retail destinations: Shanghai, Los Angeles, New York, London and Istanbul.Announcing Mr. Wilmot as the winner, Richard Wynn, Regional Director of Michael Page in Australia, said; “We are thrilled to announce Warren Wilmot as the winner of the first Michael Page Retail Executive Award. With his exceptional innovation in creating a distribution strategy for Krispy Kreme doughnuts through the 7-Eleven store chain, the strategic partnership and cost effective financial model developed and the business success achieved, Mr. Wilmot is a deserving winner of the title.”Over the past 12 months, Mr. Wilmot has been instrumental in developing the strategy behind introducing the sale of Krispy Kreme doughnuts throughout the 7-Eleven store network. The model leverages the company’s exclusive existing supply chain to stores, one no other convenience store or food chain can replicate due to its market density model, according to Mr. Wilmot’s award submission. The offer has also been developed as a true strategic partnership in which the financial model is designed to benefit both parties equally, with principals from each company meeting monthly to ensure complete end-to-end integration.Mr. Wilmot has worked with the 7-Eleven company for 20 years, commencing as a District Manager in the field with Franchisees and progressing through various operational roles, as well as spending some time as Head of Marketing before being appointed Chief Executive Officer in November 2002. Mr. Wilmot, who oversees the operations of more than 600 convenience stores in his CEO role, commented that a long-term interest in experiencing the Westfield World Retail Study Tour led him to enter the 2013 Michael Page Retail Executive Award.“I have always looked at the Westfield World Retail Study Tour as something that I would like to attend and this was my chance. The tour covers countries and retailers that I would like to see and that are outside my focus of ‘convenience’,” Mr. Wilmot said. “I am most looking forward to getting together with some great retailers and seeing retail through their eyes. I am also excited to see what other global retailers think but more importantly what they are trying to say to me as a customer.”On being named the winner of the 2013 Michael Page Retail Executive Award, Mr. Wilmot said it was “wonderful news” and that it was also rewarding that the win acknowledged and recognised the work that his team had done over the past year. Mr. Wilmot added that the opportunity to spend time while travelling on the tour to look at other successful businesses and think about his own would be invaluable.“You can think, you can discuss and you can ask other retailers directly about how they have achieved what they have achieved, and then you can contemplate how you would make those changes back home. Tucking away ideas in your memory is also vitally important so that, when you are faced with a problem, a situation or a crossroads on a decision, you can think back to the tour and remember what good looked like,” he added.
