Farmlands Co-operative Society has appointed Marie Barlabas as Chief Merchandising Officer following an executive search conducted by SEQEL Partners.

Farmlands is a New Zealand based co-operative operating in the rural supplies and services sector. The business was established over 55 years ago, with the aim of providing competition in the rural retail supply sector to reduce farmers’ input costs. Today, Farmlands has an extensive network of 82 stores across the country and transacts more than $2.5 billion annually.

Marie has had a successful executive career leading end-to-end merchandising in A$1 billion plus companies across a broad range of sectors in Australia including general merchandise, home, fashion and accessories.

Marie has most recently been the General Manager for Category and Buying for Blackwoods, a Wesfarmers Group business providing industrial supplies in Australia with revenues of circa A$2 billion. As part of the leadership team, she reported to the CEO and led a team of 140 across the functions of category and sourcing, planning, own brand and global sourcing, as well as quality compliance and sustainability. 

Previously Marie had spent over 10 years with the Spotlight Retail Group, a privately owned business with 170 stores across Australia and NZ. In her final five years she was the Head of Merchandising and Business Development leading the commercial strategy for the A$380m flagship dress, sew, craft and party divisions. Over her career, Marie has held senior merchandising positions with the likes of Pharmacy Platform, Genuine Parts Company, Fletcher Building and Lincraft. 

Marie joined Farmlands on Monday 27th January.