Earlier this year, Confex announced the appointment of Tabitha Hunter-Smale as Projects Development Manager.
The role is a new one for the buying group, which has over 200 members with a combined turnover of £2.9bn.
Representing over 200 suppliers, the group is celebrating 50 years of trading.
Tabitha Hunter-Smale tells Wholesale Manager how her goal for the new role is to achieve growth for members, suppliers and head office.
Congratulations on being appointed Projects Development Manager at Confex. Where have you worked before and in what roles?
Thank you! I’m very excited to have joined the Confex team.
Before joining Confex Ltd, I was Head of Business Development for Sugro UK, a promotion from Business Development Manager. Before that I worked as Corporate Accounts Manager for Liberty Flights, my first introduction to the world of wholesale, which I’m hugely thankful for. I had some incredibly varied roles in my early career, from senior account manager for an events company to freelance corporate presenter. All of which prepared me for where I am today.
What does the role involve?
Projects Development Manager is a new position that sprang from the organisation’s need to focus on internal initiatives, including CORE Own Brand, Confex Data Insight Programme along with other projects to help develop and grow Confex Wholesaler Businesses.
I’ll also be using my experience of working with small- and medium-sized members to develop their businesses. And I’ll be working closely with many of the northern members as their business development contact.
What are your goals for what you want to achieve in the role?
Growth. Member growth, supplier growth, and Head Office growth. And that doesn’t just mean ‘double-digit’ figures. It’s about qualitative as well as quantitative change. For me, growth might be maximising company profile via social media, local events, charity initiatives or awards. Or minimising climate impact and working closely with Confex HO on some of our sustainability projects. Or increasing customer base through the use of data and digital innovation, while supporting suppliers through NPD or range review. This, of course, is where the Confex data focus comes into its own.
I really believe that with consistent, small changes you can see big results in any business, and indeed, any area of life.
Tell us more about Confex
Confex is celebrating its 50th year as a National Wholesale Buying Group. We work on behalf of 224 Wholesalers across the UK with a combined turnover of 2.98bn. We harness this Group turnover to the benefit of our members including preferential trading terms with our over 200 Suppliers spanning all product categories.
Confex reports to a member led Board which drives the strategy for the Group. Confex offers no joining or membership fees and runs a profit share model where every member receives an annual dividend. Confex offers help and support across many facets of Wholesale, running a very strong annual promotional programme, trade shows, retail and Food To Go clubs along with digital and data projects to help our wholesalers to keep one step ahead of the competition.
Confex is always open to membership enquiries for forward thinking, dynamic Wholesalers who can add value to the Group as a whole.
CORE has 300 products currently spanning ambient, chilled, frozen and non-food and will break the 5million turnover in its first full year of operation in 2022.
What product categories does Confex deal in?
We work with over 200 suppliers across all product categories, including; Soft Drinks, Alcohol, Tobacco, Crisps & Snacks, Confectionery, Grocery and Foodservice. Not forgetting our incredibly popular own-label, CORE.
What promotional offers do you run?
Confex runs a comprehensive annual promotional programme across 1000’s of major brands. There are 16 Retail Promotion Periods per year, each one having a 6 week buy in and 3-week sell out. Promotions are offered to suit each category of member.
Our catering promotion programme operates on a monthly basis. We also issue special seasonal promotions for Christmas, Easter / Spring events, and Halloween.
The Confex retail club run promotions that follow the main retail programme of 16 promotions periods.
Retail and catering promotions are issued approximately 2 weeks before buy in via our digital newsletter Delivered!
How is the CORE own label range performing?
CORE is performing exceptionally well, and we are on target to hit over £5m sales in 2022. We are constantly looking at new lines, so 2023 looks set to be an exciting year for CORE. I am particularly pleased to be supporting Confex with this brand, and we have already recruited some fantastic new members as a direct result of having this own-brand available.
How many products are in the range and what categories does it cover?
Confex has developed various trademarked Own Brands which are exclusively available to our members. Consisting of over 300 products, The Confex Own Brand strategy aims to allow members to compete across a wide variety of product categories while maintaining a healthy profit margin.
CORE is the Confex foodservice Own Brand. With a product portfolio spanning ambient, chilled, frozen and non-food categories our portfolio provides the perfect range for wholesalers to compete and win business across the hospitality sector. Core is also used to help members win catering contracts across the UK.
The CORE range is suitable for the following outlets:
• Education
• Hotels
• Pubs & Clubs
• Bistros & Restaurants
• Care Homes
• Garden Centres
• Coffee shops
• Sandwich shops
What benefits will the Confex Data Insight programme bring to your members?
Spearheaded by our chairman, Martin Williams, the Data Insight programme via TWC has been instrumental. 60% of our group turnover is set to be recorded via the platform by the end of the year, with more members and suppliers signed up to join ahead of 2023.
From a business development perspective (both supplier, and Confex) this tool is invaluable. Viewing sales in ‘real time’ and being able to easily identify gaps and missed opportunities is priceless. Our top members are regularly using this platform to see where sales are slow, missed, what SKU’s really do (and don’t) work and where they sit in performance against the group. It also allows BDM’s insight into ‘like for like’ accounts, so that we can better tailor our member support.
How has the wholesale industry changed in recent years?
I’m still very new to the wholesale industry, with just shy of five years under my belt. Unfortunately, much of that time has been overshadowed by a string of negative events – CO2 shortages, Coronavirus, Brexit, driver shortages, a practically vertical increase in the cost of fuel, and the cost of living crisis.
What has shone brightly through all that adversity is the resolve and stoicism of independent wholesalers. Their adaptability and willingness to change, sometimes at the drop of a hat, has really inspired me. The way so many wholesalers transformed themselves – often within days – from a delivered to online service at the start of the pandemic was nothing short of incredible. It makes me incredibly proud to be part of this industry. Our members truly are feeding the nation.
How digital is Confex as a business, and do you offer any IT support for your members e.g. ordering apps, online support, delivery tracking?
Very, and yes. We are working on some incredibly exciting (and top-secret) initiatives right now. What I can say, is that digital is at the heart of all we do. You only need to look at our member website and portal as a clear example of this. We aim to extend this into our member offering, so watch this space for some exciting news on how we plan to even further benefit our Confex members in the near future.
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