Parfetts has appointed Mark Bottomley as its new Head of Trading to support the company’s goal of achieving £1 billion in turnover and expanding to 2,000 fascia members.
In his new role, Mark will report to Trading Director Cheryl Hope to enhance growth within the wholesale and convenience sectors.
Bringing nearly three decades of industry experience, Mark has previously held senior positions at Unitas Wholesale and Bestway, along with other prominent UK wholesalers. He has established a strong reputation for developing effective commercial strategies, fostering robust supplier partnerships, and helping independent retailers drive value, promotions, and innovative product ranges.
His focus will be on strengthening supplier relationships and exploring new opportunities across depots, digital platforms, and the Go Local symbol estate.
Mark Bottomley, Parfetts Head of Trading, tells Wholesale Manager what made him want to get into wholesaling and about some of the biggest challenges he has faced in the industry.
Where have you worked before and in what roles?
I started my career at Batleys, working in trading, and held roles in marketing as well, and this transitioned into Bestway after the acquisition. I then joined Today’s Group in 2013 buying wines, spirits and soft drinks. I left for a short sabbatical in 2013 and then went to work for Lucozade Ribena Suntory. I had managed at Bestway as a senior national account manager, so it was good for my own experience to get an angle of what it’s like on the other side of the desk. I did that for just shy of 12 months, but then I moved back to Today’s and set up their digital strategy for a couple of years because I previously held marketing experience, so I had a good insight into that. I moved back into trading around the time of the merger with Landmark, which formed Unitas. I held buying responsibilities there, covering confectionery, soft drinks, crisps, snacks and nuts. And then, just before I left, I held a senior trading controller position responsible for the licensed and grocery categories.
You have been appointed Head of Trading. What does your current role involve?
I am reporting to Cheryl Hope, Trading Director, covering beer, soft drinks and crisps, nuts and nuts. I aim to enhance that growth within the wholesale and convenience sector. I have got a team that reports to me and I am looking forward to the challenge that it’s going to bring.
What are your goals for what you want to achieve in the role?
My key priority is to build on the very strong foundations that are already in place. It’s about building on those strong foundations, developing even closer relationships with suppliers, a simple opportunity to maximise commercial growth, working collaboratively on the base business. But it’s also about ensuring that we execute best in class promotional activity, getting the most out of NPD launches, and also making sure that it filters right through into that retail execution piece, which Parfets are very well known for through their Go Local activities.
At the same time, I want to make sure we’re supporting independent retailers with the right range value and advice to help them grow profit and play in what we all know is a very competitive marketplace.
What made you want to get into the wholesale industry?
Going right back to 1990, I got into wholesale after I trained as a chef and studied management. I did quite a lot of work around restaurants and hotels, and it gave me a real passion for the wine category and made me want to get into that set. I had a few years working in hotels, not having a social life, and I wanted to get back into what I saw as a normal job. So I started my career at Batleys, that got me into wholesale and I never looked back.
What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced in the wholesale industry?
The growth of the sector was impacted by Covid in recent years. People then moved towards deliveries and online sales. There has been the rise of symbols, which brings opportunities and challenges. One of the biggest challenges has definitely been adapting to rising costs. Everything from fuel to supply prices continues to rise. And it’s about still offering good value to customers. With changing customer expectations and new technology, we’ve got to make sure that we stay competitive and relevant.
It’s all about, staying flexible and finding those solutions so we can keep the business moving forward. Parfetts has a great track record in digital innovation, and I don’t see that slowing down.
It’s also worth mentioning that we don’t have shareholders to pay. That means the staff live and breathe the business and make it the best they can. We put more of the profits back into our business and that includes the online ordering channel, delivery systems and the support teams who support that. We also invest more in our retail stores and in margin, they continue to grow. We face those challenges with the right solutions.
Can you tell us a little of the history of your company?
Parfetts was launched in 1980 by Alan Parfett. In 2008, the company became employee owned after the retirement of Alan’s son Steve. By this time the company was running three or four depots. Transitioning to being an employee-owned business has been a key factor in our growth and is what makes us unique in this industry. It means that we invest profits back into margin and into customer stores and it works. The central team ensure we can attract the best people, train them and keep them and also maintain the infrastructure, which is now done at nine state of the art depots, with the addition of Southampton. Our aim is to be a £1 billion business with 2,000 symbol stores in the next few years. That is what attracted me. It’s great to be part of a business that’s investing back for the long term.
How is the company performing?
Parfetts had a record year last year at over £733 million turnover, which was up from £696 million the year before. Our symbol group has grown by 20% year on year and we are the home of 1,500 symbol stores.
How far is the geographical reach of your business?
From the Scottish borders to the south coast and in the southwest, as far as Bristol. We have nine depots, at Aintree, Anfield, Halifax, Middlesbrough, Stockport, Somercotes, Sheffield, Birmingham and Southampton.
How many products does your business supply and what categories do you cover?
Our range covers all categories, with exception of food service. There are over 7,500 lines in our range.
What are the different symbol group fascias that Parfetts offers?
Go Local Extra is for larger format stores. Go Local is for the smaller format stores, they have got a range that is really designed to maximise turnover where space may be limited. The Local is geared towards beer, wines and spirits specialists, offering tailored ranges and dedicated promotional plans within the licensed sector. The relatively new format is Shop & Go for retailers who run forecourts or are in commuter locations, those transient, high footfall, city centre areas.
Does Parfetts have an own brand range?
Yes, we have the Go Local range. That’s a range that’s designed specifically for convenience retailers, with over 150 lines across all categories. That range will be constantly reviewed to ensure that we’re meeting retailers’ needs and obviously, we are still trading in that cost conscious marketplace. It is imperative to make sure that we are still offering value. We deliver incredible quality and value to consumers, and we put retailers in a position to make strong margin.
Go Local is available to all our customers, not just our own symbol group stores.
Do you have an e-commerce site for your customers?
Yes, we do. We have recently spent over £1 million updating the site to create a super easy shopping experience.
How digital is your business, and do you offer any IT support for your members e.g. ordering apps, online support, delivery tracking?
Almost 50% of our turnover now goes through online sales. We have also developed our own WhatsApp and email platforms to ensure that customers are kept fully informed of offers, promotions and trading information. Anything that is relevant to them is communicated via the WhatsApp and email systems. We also provide support through our 60 strong team of retail development advisors. Retailers have easy access to our depot teams, and that gives them an increased IT and marketing function. All our customers have access to all those systems.
How has the wholesale industry changed in recent years?
I think the wholesale industry has changed massively in recent years. Covid really shook things up. The sector had to adapt quickly to those supply chain disruptions that we all faced. We all had to develop new ways to meet the changing customer needs. Since then, technology has come to the fore. It has become even more important, making those ordering and delivery opportunities faster and more efficient. I think that’s where Parfetts really excelled, to the point where nearly 50% of our business now goes through online orders and delivered customers. People expect more convenience and more flexibility than ever.
There is also a growing focus on sustainability. The younger generation look to sustainability more often and think about it in their own purchase decisions, so that affects the ranges that we stock, to some degree. We’ve got to make sure that we think about sustainable options when choosing ranges. I think it’s made the industry more challenging, but also more innovative.
We have made a push to strengthen our symbol stores because that’s becoming more and more important for both retailers and wholesalers to develop that symbol offering. From a supplier’s point of view, because they want a return on investment, ultimately they want to put their brands into consumers’ hands and the symbol business can do that.
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