Employee-owned wholesaler Parfetts has secured its ninth depot in Southampton thus strengthening its national footprint.
The Stockport-based company will open a new 113,000 sq ft depot that will enable it to deliver across the south coast and into Greater London while also serving as cash and carry depot for retailers across the region.
The move will create over 100 new jobs and support the expansion of the symbol groups, which include Go Local, Go Local Extra, The Local, and Shop & Go.
The depot will launch later this year and provide independent retailers across the South with access to a wide range of regular promotions, from weekly manager’s specials to Big Ticket promotions and quarterly showcases.
Regular three-weekly promotions cover a vast array of products, plus EDLP lines offer increased value and margin across key products in any promotional period.
Commenting on the development, Guy Swindell, joint managing director of Parfetts, said, “The launch of our ninth depot underlines our commitment to serving a national customer base.
"We are determined to bring our employee-owned model to as many retailers as possible to ensure they can benefit from the industry-leading support we offer.
“We are on track to reach £1bn turnover and 2,000 symbol group retailers. Our relentless focus on supporting retailer margins has accelerated our growth over the last few years.”
Unitas Wholesale managing director, John Kinney, said: "Unitas member Parfetts’ second new depot in three years demonstrates the incredible strength of their retail cash & carry and delivery model," Retailers love to visit the new generation of state-of-the art depots like Parfetts Birmingham. They are perfect showrooms for suppliers’ innovative and ingenious merchandising displays and Parfetts is leading the way.
“We are delighted that one of our biggest members is expanding into national coverage with its excellent Go Local proposition. We look forward to supporting the whole Parfetts team as they bring their fantastic independent wholesale and symbol model to thousands more retailers in the south of England.”
In the last financial year (2023-2024), Parfetts saw an eight per cent increase in turnover to £696 million. It saw record investments in its own label range, which now has over 200 lines designed to offer industry-leading margins.
The wholesaler also invested in a digital agency to support the development of its digital platforms to create a best-in-class experience for retailers. The enhanced digital offering is designed to simplify ordering and provide the data retailers need to support margins.
Noel Robinson, joint managing director of Parfetts, said, “We continue to invest in our offer with an award-winning symbol group, a rapidly expanding own label offering, and a value proposition designed to support retailer margins.
"As an employee-owned business, Parfetts can reinvest in the business and support customers. We remain focused on keeping things simple for our retailers, with our symbol group offering a flexible package tailored to store location, size, current turnover, and growth potential. We are excited to launch the new depot later this year.”
Parfetts also launched a new forecourt and transient customers symbol format in December.
The new format Shop & Go offers a bespoke product range and dedicated promotions designed for specific shopper missions, emphasising impulse, confectionery, snacks, and soft drinks. It also provides food-to-go, beers, wines, spirits, and specialist ranges, including car care and maintenance.
Parfetts' current depots are in Aintree, Anfield, Birmingham, Halifax, Middlesbrough, Sheffield, Somercotes and Stockport.
Kitwave Group, the delivered wholesale business, has reported strong revenue and profit growth for its 2024 fiscal.
In the 12 months ended 31 October 2024, the group revenues increased by 10.2 per cent to £663.7 million, and adjusted operating profit rose by 6.3 per cent to £34m. Like-for-like revenue growth stood at 5 per cent.
“Kitwave has delivered another strong full-year performance. We have met full-year market expectations, achieved organic growth and expanded our operations, particularly in our foodservice division,” Ben Maxted, chief executive of Kitwave, commented.
"The group had a clear plan for FY24 to invest for growth in three key areas: IT, delivery infrastructure and strategic M&A opportunities. The successful execution of this plan saw new warehouse technology enhancing operational efficiencies, a new state-of-the-art storage and delivery facility in the South West and three acquisitions completed, which have significantly increased the scale of the group's UK network.”
The group completed three acquisitions – WLG (Holdings) Limited in Oldham, Total Foodservice Solutions Limited in the North of England and Creed Catering Supplies Limited in the South of England – in the reporting period, significantly expanding its foodservice division.
The company said WLG and Total Foodservice have been fully integrated into the group, with expected operational and financial synergies starting to be realised.
It also completed the new 80,000 square-foot distribution centre in September 2024, adding further capacity for growth of foodservice operations in the South West.
“Looking ahead, the Group has started the new financial year well, and the board is already working towards its goals for FY25. We believe this will generate value for our stakeholders, and we would like to thank all our people for another successful year,” Maxted added.
Wholesaler JW Filshill, having achieved its 2020 pledge to cut its carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 five years early, is prioritising sustainability in its 150th anniversary year.
In terms of Filshill’s sustainability goals, the company revealed that it has reached this target five years early, boosted by its relocation to the new Renfrew site, significant investment in electric HGV vehicles, solar panels and full LED lighting, and transitioning to HVO fuel for all diesel-powered operations at Westway Business Park.
Filshil has also committed to investing in a software platform that will assist greatly in tracking Scope 3 emissions.
The wholesaler relocated to its purpose-built 120,400 sq ft distribution centre at Westway, near Glasgow Airport in March 2023
This year, the fifth-generation wholesaler has won two key industry awards for its work around sustainability and commitment to becoming a net-zero business: the Sustainable Wholesaler of the Year at Scottish Wholesale Achievers in February and, earlier this month, the Environment and Sustainability Award at the Unitas Connect Awards.
In both awards, the judges recognised investment not just in Filshill’s own operations and workforce but its engagement and collaboration with its suppliers and customers to consider all aspects of the supply chain.
Keith Geddes, chief financial and operating officer at Filshill, said, “We’ve made huge strides around sustainability within the business and leading the way within the wholesale sector not just in terms of Scotland but across the UK.
“We’ve reduced our carbon footprint by 8 per cent in the last year alone and invested in two fully electric HGVs. We have looked at several innovations to further reduce our CO2 emissions including switching to hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) for all our HGVs at Westway – this has been a game-changer for us as this is a much cleaner fuel than diesel.
“Overall, we now know that we are producing just 50g of CO2 per case which is a reduction of 65 per cent since 2021.”
He added, “We are now pushing ahead with benchmarking our Scope 3 emissions. By adopting a wholesale food and drink-focused software platform, we can better track our Scope 3 emissions.”
Geddes said getting all staff on board, across all departments, has been key to Filshill’s success in achieving its sustainability goals.
“From fairly simply measures such as reducing paper invoices and switching to e-invoicing and using both sides of the page when we do need to print something out – small actions make a huge difference over time. Backhauling is another area we are looking at," he said.
Filshill also contributes to the Zero Emission Truck Taskforce, set up by Transport Scotland, along with the Scottish Wholesale Association with which it has worked on key projects to accelerate the use of electric vehicles in Scotland’s wholesale industry.
The company, one of Scotland’s oldest and most respected independent food and drink wholesalers, is marking its 150th anniversary in 2025 with a raft of activity based around the theme Delivering Success that champions sustainability, innovation, community, and wellbeing.
Culminating with a 150th Anniversary Celebration Dinner in Glasgow in October, the year honours Filshill’s journey from its origins as a confectionery manufacturer in Glasgow’s Gallowgate in 1875 to its position today as an award-winning wholesaler serving independent KeyStore convenience stores across Scotland and the north of England. while setting the scene for a future of ambition, growth, and positivity.
The award-winning wholesaler also aims to raise £150,000 for six charities which represent large demographics of the communities they serve as part of the anniversary celebrations. Chosen by Filshill staff, the charities are:
CHAS (Children’s Hospices Across Scotland)
Dementia Scotland
Cancer Research UK
MND Scotland
SSPCA (Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
Unitas Wholesale members will now share more than £2 million in incremental revenue in return for their participation in the group’s central promotions, publications and events.
The More for More incentive, revealed by managing director John Kinney, at the Unitas Wholesale connect25 trade show in Liverpool, will help drive engagement, execution and compliance in supplier partnership activities.
It will reward members who can demonstrate a higher level of engagement in schemes including the URP promotions programme, the retailer support portal Plan for Profit, customer-facing promotional materials and the buying group’s flagship trade show and conference.
“Our mission is to be a fitter, fairer and faster organisation, delivering incremental revenue for our members, and return on investment for suppliers,” Kinney told the members at the trade show.
“We have made great progress on being fitter – increasing the revenue returned to members by 17 per cent in the last year, and 35 per cent over the last five years, and we have helped members reduce their overheads by £3m through our Unitas Procurement scheme.
“We are also faster - increasing members cash flow through more efficient financial systems, reducing the days taken to process payments.
“Now we need to be fairer – ensuring that those members who contribute most to the group get the most out of it. This is why we are putting aside more than £2m in additional rewards for those who actively engage, and incentivise others to do the same.”
More for More offers members the opportunity to more than recoup their annual membership fee from the additional revenue stream. This approach will help members navigate a challenging trading environment while demonstrating to suppliers that their investments generate strong returns, securing long-term investment in Unitas Wholesale.
Details of the criteria for accessing the income will be shared with members.
Unitas interim chair Dr Jason Wouhra OBE, CEO of Lioncroft Wholesale, welcomed the launch of More for More, saying, “Offering embers a greater financial incentive to actively participate in Unitas’ central schemes will appeal to wholesalers’ entrepreneurial instincts and will ensure those who put the most into the group will be rewarded proportionately.
“It will also incentivise members to drive compliance in joint ventures with our suppliers, which we know is the key to building mutually beneficial relationships. This new model will help to drive the right behaviours and will be vital to unlocking future investment and sustainable growth for members individually and for the group as a whole.”
Kinney added, “We believe our members should receive 100 per cent of supplier terms investment, as these funds are intended to support your business to grow their brands.
"This transparent approach strengthens supplier trust and will maximise their investment in promoting their brands, which in turn assures future investment.”
Unitas Wholesale members are its sole shareholders, with no external parties or directors profiting from the group, with no remit for the Central Office to build excessive profits.
Unlike other buying groups, Unitas Wholesale does not retain any of the supplier terms revenue it negotiates for members.
Independent drinks wholesaler LWC has recently launched a set of ambitious environment commitments, unveiling a significant acceleration in its sustainability drive.
Centred around five key pillars - "Climate, Facilities, Operations, Marketing & Communications, and People" - these new commitments provide a clear roadmap for how LWC intends to reduce its environmental impact, operate more responsibly, and drive sustainability across the drinks industry.
Notable commitments include:
25 per cent reduction in Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions by 2030
Engagement with top 20 suppliers to reduce Scope 3 GHG emissions by 25 per cent by 2035
Accreditation achieved by 2026
Pilot HVO at key depots with bunded tanks by 2026
Electrify all warehouse equipment by 2030
2 per cent of annual profit donated to charity partners
Alongside its Headline Commitments, LWC has also unveiled a Green Ambassador Programme, the launch of a new internal ‘Sustainability & ESG Hub,’ plus the appointment of a new Sustainability Lead.
These developments follow the continued roll out of solar arrays across LWC sites, its road mile reduction partnership with Asahi, and the formation of its Sustainability Committee in 2024.
Ebrahim Mukadam, Managing Director for LWC commented, "Although we have been making progress in this space for some time, the announcement of our Headline Commitments alongside the launch of our green initiatives really underscores a strategic step change in pace for us.
“We have set our goals, supported them with robust action plans and are formally holding ourselves to account. We want to lead by example, by being transparent and taking responsibility for our own footprint, but also supporting our customers, partners, and suppliers to also make more sustainable choices.
“Sustainability isn’t just about business; it’s about people, communities, and the future we leave behind. By making these commitments now, we’re ensuring that LWC plays its part in protecting the planet for generations to come.”
With growing regulatory and consumer pressure for businesses to operate more sustainably, LWC is proactively positioning itself at the forefront of industry change.
By embedding sustainability into its business model and culture, the company is committed to not just making pledges, but delivering real, measurable impact.
In its aim to support independent retailers, wholesaler giant Booker has unveiled a new guide, pulling together a range of in-store -services to help retailers ‘make more and save more’.
The guide, known as Added Value Services (AVS) Guide, contains over 25 Booker exclusive deals across a range of services, including parcel collection with InPost, drinks machines with Costa and Calippo Burst and home delivery solutions.
Retailers could save over £50,000. The guide is available to all Booker’s symbol group retailers. It is also now accessible online via the wholesaler’s website.
Colm Johnson, Booker’s Retail Managing Director, said, “As part of our ongoing commitment to help retailers save more and make more, we are pleased to bring our retailers a new Added Value Services Guide.
"We have brought together a range of recommended suppliers to support all their in-store needs, and negotiated a number of preferential exclusive rates for Booker retailers, including how they can utilise the benefits of being part of a Group.”
Booker's AVS guide comes close in heels with another New Product Development Guide, showcasing Booker’s new group exclusives and first-to-market offerings.
Released earlier this month, Booker's NPD Guide covers over 125 new products. It also contains all activities available to the symbol group retailers, including a range of food, drinks and household essentials; Easter ranges; and low/no alcohol products which continue to remain popular with consumers.
Booker's NPD guide aims to help retailers to differentiate themselves from their competitors and prepare for the Spring season ahead.
Booker has been creating buzz in the retail side. Recently, the wholesaler announced the launch of a brand-new ordering platform Scoot, exclusively for its symbol group retailers to help them deliver local groceries to their customers’ doors, in as little as 30 minutes.
Scoot facilitates the processes of ordering, payment, and picking processes, leaving the retailers solely responsible for organising the delivery, whether they handle it in-house or use third party.
The new platform is currently piloting in Budgens Abridge with the aim to pilot another three stores in February and March. The platform will be phased out more widely to Booker symbol group retailers – across Budgens, Premier, Londis and Family Shopper from April 2025.