KCS Cash & Carry, a member of The Wholesale Group, has opened its new 30,000 sq ft depot in Croydon.
Located at Unit 1, Segro Park, Redhouse Road, Croydon, CR0 3AQ, the new site has been developed to serve independent retailers, foodservice operators and other trade customers across Croydon and the surrounding area.
The opening marks a further step in the company’s growth strategy and aligns with its Vision 2030 ambition to achieve double digit growth year-on-year. It also reinforces KCS Cash & Carry’s commitment to expanding its reach in key markets while continuing to support customers with strong pricing, service and range.
Croydon was selected due to strong demand from the area’s Afro-Caribbean and broader multicultural retail market, alongside the opportunity to support a wide mix of independent businesses and foodservice customers.
At launch, the depot will stock around 8,000 SKUs, with a particular focus on world foods, supported by a large chilled and frozen area. The range has been designed to offer breadth across key wholesale categories and meet the needs of customers looking for choice, convenience and value.
The opening is expected to create more than 30 jobs and underlines KCS Cash & Carry’s continued investment in growth. The depot will trade from 8am to 7pm, with opening activity including trade specials and tasting sessions.
Kiran Singh, Director of KCS Cash & Carry, said: “We look forward to catering to the community in Croydon and providing our valuable customers with strong prices, exceptional service and a wide product range.” Chander Singh, Director of KCS Cash & Carry, added: “The new depot is designed to improve operational efficiency while increasing our distribution reach. It is an important step in our growth plans and will help us support more customers across Croydon and the surrounding area.”
Kiran Singh, Director of KCS Cash & Carry, tells Wholesale Manager why he chose Croydon and how the wholesale industry has changed in recent years.
What made you choose Croydon for your second cash & carry depot?
There’s a big market within the world food sector in Croydon, and that’s what we specialised in, in our first depot in Hayes. So we thought it’s the right area to target customers, and to serve the community, and hence why we decided to choose Croydon.
Are your customers retail or foodservice?
They are predominantly retail, but we have some foodservice and catering accounts. The same is true for our Hayes depot.
Can you tell us a little bit about your background?
We started KCS around six years ago. We started with a small 15,000 square foot unit, and now today combined we are at over 70,000 so it’s a market which we enjoy being in.
What made you want to get into wholesaling?
We already had a sister company called Asia Traders, and we specialised in Indian food. So, we started KCS as an extension, adding to our range by focusing on drinks, confectionery, snacks and alcohol. Since then we’ve just kept at it, found our niche, and have been serving the community both in West and now South London.
What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced as a wholesaler?
I think there are endless challenges, there are big changes with the business rates, that’s a big challenge that’s been affecting a lot of wholesalers. There are tight margins, the industry is not at its best position. I think mainly it would be the margins, the competition, and the higher taxation that’s impacting all wholesalers.
How is your company performing right now?
It is performing well. Last year we were ranked in the Sunday Times’ top 100 fastest growing companies, and we’ve been growing. I think with the South London depot, we should increase our distribution channel and look to increase our business, of course.
Do you plan to expand the number of depots?
Yes, down the line, we may open more depots. I think first we want to settle down with our two existing depots, finish them off completely, and then we will move into other areas.
What benefits do you get from being a member of The Wholesale Group?
There a lot of benefits, I think that the terms are great. We deal directly with a lot of suppliers, and of course, the team is just a call away if we need anything. The trade show deals that come up twice a year are excellent.
Do you have an e-commerce site for your customers?
Yes, we do. We have an app, a lot of customers place orders on the app, and we deliver nationwide. And I think with the Croydon Depot, we’ll be looking to establish the app here.
Right now all of our deliveries go from our Hayes depot. I think down the line we will look into delivering from Croydon.
How do you think the wholesale industry has changed in recent years?
We started five years ago. I think in these five years we have seen a lot of trends coming into the market.
There’s a lot of AI being implemented. There’s a lot of innovative technology that’s coming up within the wholesale sector, things that you cannot even think about.
I think there’s a lot of trends coming by, and it’s all positive, hopefully it will drive efficiencies within the wholesale sector.
Kish Ramasamy, Wholesale Development Manager at The Wholesale Group, said: “KCS Cash & Carry’s new Croydon depot is a strong example of the ambition and investment we are seeing from members across the group. The opening strengthens KCS’ presence in an important market and will help the business support more retailers and foodservice customers with the range, value and service they need.”
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