Nick Read, the CEO of UK convenience retail chain Nisa, announced his resignation Friday, amid talks that The Co-operative could be set to acquire the group.
The retailer has yet to announce a replacement for the chief executive, who joined Nisa in December 2014.
Peter Hartley, the group's chairman, said that the company is grateful to Read for his leadership "during a challenging period for Nisa and the wider convenience sector".
Convenience Competition
Nisa, which operates over 3,000 independently-owned stores across the UK, has been the subject of merger talks for several months, as the battle to consolidate the convenience store market in the UK continues.
In June, it was reported that Sainsbury's was close to submitting a formal bid to acquire Nisa, which was seen as a counter to Tesco’s £3.7 billion acquisition of Booker.
However, last month, it was reported that that The Co-operative had entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire Nisa, after Sainsbury's halted its potential £130 million takeover.
It is reported that a formal offer from the Co-op could be made this week.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
