Welcome to the July issue of Wholesale Manager. Employee-owned wholesaler Parfetts is awarding its workforce the maximum 4% sales bonus following a record-breaking year in which turnover soared to £733m, up from £696m in 2024. The business, which has grown turnover 93% over the past six years, continues to go from strength to strength, with its symbol group now supporting over 1,650 retailers across the UK, from Portsmouth to Lockerbie.
Food & Drink Wholesale UK (FWD) has announced that Tom Gittins, Joint Managing Director of The Wholesale Group, will become its new Chairman from 1 January 2026, succeeding Bestway Wholesale MD Dawood Pervez. A third-generation wholesaler, Gittins brings a deep-rooted understanding of the sector, having led both Confex and, more recently, The Wholesale Group alongside his sister Jess Douglas. His family has been involved in wholesale for more than 50 years. On 20 June Sir Anwar Pervez, OBE HPk was honoured to be invited to join Their Majesties for Tea in the Royal Box at the Royal Ascot Races. The invitation to join their gracious Majesties was part of Sir Anwar’s 90th Birthday celebrations. By honouring Sir Anwar on his 90th birthday, The King has shown his deep appreciation of the significant contribution that the founder of Bestway has made to the British Society over his 60-year career.
AF Blakemore unveiled Blakemore Trade Partners Plus, a new investment package and rebate scheme, at SRS25: Better Together, the SPAR retail show in Telford. Matt Teague, Managing Director, Retail and Sarah Ellis, Group Marketing Director at AF Blakemore, spoke to Wholesale Manager about how the technologies demonstrated at SRS25 will help retailers succeed. Also at the show was Ian Lewis, Director at SPAR Minster Lovell, who chatted to Wholesale Manager about how Blakemore helps him grow his business.
In today’s challenging retail environment, where consumer needs are rapidly evolving and promotional activity is intensifying, both established leaders and challenger brands are under pressure to find sustainable paths to growth. But while the market may be competitive, it isn’t binary. Brands, big or small, stand to gain more by learning from each other than by going it alone, writes Rachel White, MD UK&I at NielsenIQ.
Despite the sunny weather providing some respite for retailers, The British Retail Consortium (BRC) reports growth in May was “the slowest growth in 2025 so far”. With the cost of living continuing to put pressure on consumer spending, it remains a challenging time for wholesalers and the retail sector more broadly. So, how can the sector respond to these challenges, writes Gareth Anderson, Head of Business Management, Allica Bank.
Enjoy reading the issue.
Comments are closed.