MAM
Waitrose is England’s cricket team sponsor
MUMBAI: UK supermarket Waitrose has signed a three-year deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board to become the new team sponsor of England Cricket from next year.
The Waitrose logo will feature on all England teams playing and training wear from the Investec Test Series against Sri Lanka in May 2014, and their tenure includes home series against India (2014) and Australia (2015), the ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand (2015), the ICC World Twenty20 and ICC Women‘s World T20 in India (2016), and the tour of South Africa (2016).
Waitrose has 291 branches throughout England, Wales and Scotland. It also has an online grocery service and exports to 45 countries around the world.
ECB CEO David Collier said, “We are delighted to welcome Waitrose as the new sole sponsor of our England teams. The organisation begins their relationship with the sport with one of our marquee partnerships, and as a brand with a rich history synonymous with quality, they are a perfect fit for the ECB and our values.
“They join at an incredibly exciting time for the sport in England and Wales – with a packed international schedule including Test series against the other three teams who occupy the top four spots in the ICC Test Rankings.
“The partnership will allow us to engage further with a mass, family audience which will inevitably help us achieve our aim of inspiring the nation to play, attend and follow more cricket.”
ECB commercial director John Perera said, “This partnership is especially pleasing for us as we welcome another high profile, high-street brand into our ever-expanding commercial partner family.
“I would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Brit who has been an excellent and valued partner of the ECB since 2010, and will remain as Team Sponsor until April 2014.”
Waitrose MD Mark Price said, “We currently export our products to a quarter of the world‘s countries and associating Waitrose with this great national and international sport will enable us to build our brand globally.”
Waitrose marketing director Rupert Thomas said, “Millions of people play and watch cricket in the UK and at the heart of the game is the cricket tea which of course Waitrose is perfectly placed to provide. We look forward to developing this exciting relationship and bringing benefits to our customers, the Partners who work at Waitrose and the wider community.”
As part of the agreement, Waitrose will benefit from a range of rights and assets which will include advertising in international cricket grounds, team image rights, ticketing, hospitality and access to England players for commercial and marketing purposes. The agreement also includes a community and recreational project for the sport, details of which will be revealed at a later date.
Brands
Metro Brands appoints Harshvardhan Chauhan as CMO & SMP
Retail veteran to steer brand strategy and accelerate growth
MUMBAI: Metro Brands has appointed Harshvardhan Chauhan as its chief marketing officer and senior management personnel, effective 23 February 2026.
The move brings nearly two decades of marketing muscle into the company’s leadership ranks. With over 18 years of experience across retail, fashion, lifestyle, grocery, home and e-commerce, Chauhan arrives with a well-rounded understanding of how brands capture attention and convert it into loyalty.
His professional journey includes stints at Bharat YEF, Trident Group, RPSG, DLF Shopping Malls, ShopClues, Godrej Group, Reckitt Benckiser and Accenture, where he worked across brand building, strategic growth and business leadership.
Chauhan holds a master’s degree in business administration with a specialisation in strategy and business management from Symbiosis, Pune. He has also completed the accelerated general management programme at IIM Ahmedabad, combining academic rigour with hands-on commercial experience.
In his new full-time role, he will report to chief executive officer Nissan Joseph and work closely with the leadership team to shape the next phase of brand expansion.
For Metro Brands, the appointment signals a sharpened focus on storytelling, scale and staying one step ahead in a competitive retail landscape.
