Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Growth subdues for wholesalers on pandemic polarisation

The wholesale market has seen growth slowing in 2020 with a new report pegging the growth rate at 2.8 per cent, down from 4.4 per cent in the previous year.

According to the new UK Wholesale Market Report by Lumina Intelligence, double digit turnover growth for wholesalers serving the retail market has not offset huge declines in turnover for foodservice wholesalers.


“Retail wholesalers have seen unprecedented demand surges, which, as well as causing supply chain pressures, has resulted in strong growth across the year. For hospitality, the picture is a lot bleaker, with the ever-changing restrictions imposed since the start of the pandemic having a catastrophic impact on the industry, resulting in around a third of turnover being wiped out,” commented Blonnie Walsh, head of insight at Lumina Intelligence.

The report added that this polarisation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in several major shifts in the industry.

These included increased reliance on wholesale delivery as consumers increasingly turned to convenience channel and foodservice wholesalers going direct to consumer to offset losses from hospitality closures.

The year has also seen hybrid wholesalers, the likes of Co-op and Morrisons, growing share of the wholesale sector, from 6.5 per cent in 2018 to 9.2 per cent in 2020. These grocery multiples aim to tap into the growth of the convenience channel, adopting wholesale as a new route to market.

“As we enter 2021, the measures the government intend to impose until a vaccine has been widely distributed remain unclear. The UK wholesale industry needs clarity to ensure it is as prepared as it can be to support grocery retailers and hospitality operators, rather than continuing to second guess what will happen next,” Walsh added.

More for you

'Walkable high streets boost economy'
(Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Getty Images

'Walkable high streets boost economy'

Shoppers who walk and wheel spend more than those arriving by car, states a recent report, demonstrating the significant economic and social benefits of investing in walkable town centres, challenging traditional views on urban accessibility.

The findings published in third edition of "The Pedestrian Pound Report", recently published by Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking, come at a critical juncture for British high streets, with a record number of retail failures in 2022 and a vacancy rate of nearly one in seven by the end of 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Yvette Cooper

Home secretary Yvette Cooper speaking at the annual conference hosted by the NPCC and APCC on 19 November 2024

Photo: GOV.UK

Home secretary pledges to restore neighbourhood policing

Home secretary Yvette Cooper has announced plans to rebuild neighbourhood policing and combat surging shop theft as part of an ambitious programme of reform to policing.

In her first major speech at the annual conference hosted by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners on Tuesday, Cooper highlighted four of the key areas for reform: neighbourhood policing, police performance, structures and capabilities, crime prevention.

Keep ReadingShow less
Andrew Bailey acknowledges retailers' warning on job cuts
Bank of England building on Threadneedle Street, CLondon (Photo: iStock)
Getty Images/iStockphoto

Andrew Bailey acknowledges retailers' warning on job cuts

Retailers are right to warn of potential job cuts as a result of tax increases announced at last month’s budget, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said.

Bailey appeared before the cross-party Treasury select committee on Tuesday (19), after almost 80 retailers claimed rising costs would make “job losses inevitable, and higher prices a certainty”.

Keep ReadingShow less
High Street shopping street
Photo: iStock

High Street Rental Auctions: Independent retailers urged to engage with local councils

The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) has urged independent shop owners to reach out to their local councils about the government's newly announced High Street Rental Auction (HSRA) powers, which aim to tackle persistently vacant commercial properties on UK high streets.

Introduced through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, the HSRA legislation will come into force on 2 December. It will give local authorities the ability to put the leases of long-term empty shops up for public auction, allowing businesses and community groups to secure short-term tenancies.

Keep ReadingShow less
Home energy smartmeter
Photo: iStock

Inflation jumps in October on higher energy bills

Britain's annual inflation rate jumped more than expected in October to back above the Bank of England's target as households and businesses faced higher energy bills, official data showed Wednesday.

The Consumer Prices Index reached 2.3 per cent from a three-year low of 1.7 percent in the 12 months to September, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

Keep ReadingShow less