Dave Fishwick, the self-made millionaire whose life story inspired the Netflix movie Bank of Dave, told delegates at a last week’s Unitas conference that independent wholesalers can “take the world on” through the combined strength of the Unitas group.
The founder of the community bank Burnley Loans and Savings, who challenged the high street banks in a David v Goliath struggle, told the 300 delegates: “I feel like you’re as close to me as I am to you. The Bank of Dave is the Bank of Unitas. Together you are so strong and you can take the world on.
“You can beat everything. When you’re going up against the forces that’s out there, the massive supermarkets, the national restaurant chains, together you can beat them.”
Dave’s triumphant keynote speech ended four days of optimistic and inspiring presentations on the retail and out of home markets in which Unitas’ 155 wholesalers operate. TWC’s Tom Fender demonstrated how the most recent data shows Unitas members outperforming the market across all categories, while Jill Livesey of Lumina Intelligence outlined the sectors which are driving out of home dining above 2019 levels.
Experts in their field explored challenges and opportunities in the trading environment, including economy, politics and policy, technology, investment in people and sustainability.
New services to members were revealed in presentations by the Unitas team, including central invoicing, a new own label range, and a new scheme to offer members better pricing on their utilities and other business contracts.
Wholesalers and suppliers joined the central office trading team to demonstrate and discuss great examples of collaboration on promotions, depot activations, events and data sharing, including video case studies.
The event in Athens took its inspiration from the city’s Olympic heritage to demonstrate how the group and its wholesaler members are Growing Faster, Aiming Higher and Stronger Together.
The conference was opened by Unitas Chairman Mark Aylwin who shared how Unitas Members were outperforming the market in Retail, Foodservice and On Trade and how with their members continuing to invest in their businesses, were well placed to grow even further in 2024 and beyond.
Unitas Managing Director John Kinney told delegates: “We are committed to driving growth for our members. This is not about simply adding more members, it will be through being better at what we do. Our strategic focus will be on driving a value offer, providing additional support to members through enhanced procurement, and optimising our respective supply chains, all underpinned by digitalising the operation to make it easier for our members and suppliers to work together better.”
The five days in the Greek capital also saw hundreds of deals brokered in one-to-one meetings, hours of relationship building in social settings including a Gala Dinner, and opportunities to visit the sights of the city and its surroundings.
Next year’s Unitas conference sees the group return to Vilamoura in Portugal, September 20-24th.
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