News and Trends

Bestway’s swoop on Sainsbury’s has fuelled speculation of a reverse takeover – a further sign of the sector’s growing influence on grocery Until the pandemic struck, the wholesale sector was still feeling the fallout of the last great deal in 2018 when its biggest fish –  Booker  – was netted by  Tesco , the UK’s biggest retailer. Back then there was regular speculation that Tesco’s rival supermarkets would look to do similar deals by snapping up leading  wholesalers  or buying groups. Had anyone suggested that a big wholesaler could instigate a play for a big supermarket, the idea would have been dismissed out of hand. Not any more.  Bestway , now the UK’s third-biggest wholesaler, fuelled exactly that kind of speculation last month by acquiring a 4.4% stake in Sainsbury’s for around £270m. While industry experts believe a takeover is an unlikely prospect, the very fact that it is on manoeuvres shows something is afoot. Because while Bestway has yet to ful...

 Namnews,  18th October 2022 Leading restaurant chains, including Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, Zizzi, and Wagamama are facing the prospect of “severe disruption” to food supplies in the run-up to the all-important Christmas trading as a result of industrial action. The GMB union announced today that it was launching a strike ballot amongst almost 600 staff working at Best Food Logistics, the foodservice distributor that was acquired by Tesco’s Booker unit in early 2020. The workers have rejected a 6% pay offer, which the union said would amount to a real terms pay cut this year and into next. A total of 93% of GMB members rejected the offer, with 85% indicating they wanted to be balloted formally for industrial action. The GMB stated that dates for the strike ballot will be announced in the coming days. Nadine Houghton, the union’s National Officer, commented: “These workers bust a gut to deliver fresh, just-in-time food to some of the biggest names in the business. “Bestfood’...

  Namnews,  16th May 2022 Booker has started rolling out its ‘dark hub’ concept following the launch of the first site earlier this year. According to trade publication betterRetailing, the Tesco-owned wholesaler recently closed its branch on the Sowton Industrial Estate in Exeter to the public. However, it remains in operation for deliveries only to retailers across the southwest of England. Retailers that had previously used the site for cash & carry purchases can use a Makro outlet on Matford Park, which is a 15-minute drive away. Booker opened its first dark hub site in Stoke three months ago as part of a trial. After closing to the public, it was converted to act as a distribution centre for the group’s Premier symbol stores. The sites are designed to improve Booker’s delivered network. Last month, Tesco’s Chief Executive Ken Murphy said the first site had been “performing really well” and hinted at further expansion of the concept. The move comes at a time when whole...

Namnews, 17th February 2022 Booker is reportedly set to unveil a new food-to-go concept for its symbol stores, which is based on a service started by one of its Premier retailers. According to trade publication betterRetailing, the Tesco-owned wholesaler is planning to highlight ‘Refresh @ Premier’ at its trade shows next month. The concept is a standalone food-to-go area that combines F’real, Tango Ice Blast, Hershey’s Freeze, and hot coffee machines. It was launched last year at a Premier store in Sheffield. A source close to the company told betterRetailing: “They are refreshing the concept, so it is a different version of what’s been done previously. They’ve learned lessons from what they have done before and are trying to achieve something that can be spread out further to more retailers. “The current model won’t work in every single store, but they’re trying to find something that other independent retailers can fit into their shops.” Mandeep Singh, who runs the store in Sheffiel...

Namnews, 3rd February 2022 Booker is reportedly converting its Makro site in Stoke into a ‘dark hub’ to service its Premier symbol group. According to trade publication betterRetailing, the site will become the company’s first specialised delivered wholesale depot by the end of February. As a dark hub, the site will be closed to the public and focus only on deliveries. Sources told betterRetailing that the conversion will see the depot act as a major distribution centre for Premier stores. The Makro branch has been closed for the last few weeks to reconfigure the site. Booker is said to have invested in a new fleet of delivery vehicles as part of the trial. Customers of the old Makro site are able to use a Booker branch that is less than 20 minutes away. Booker has yet to comment on the move.  Last week , the Tesco-owned wholesaler revealed that it was introducing a delivery fee for members of its Premier and Family Shopper symbol chains to offset rising costs.

Namnews, 25th January 2022 Booker is introducing a delivery fee for retailers in the convenience sector to offset rising costs. From 28 February, members of its Premier and Family Shopper symbol chains will be charged £29.95 for each delivery. The fee for all other retail customers will be £34.95. Budgens and Londis stores are unaffected. The Tesco-owned wholesaler stated that it was a transparent fixed cost and will not fluctuate, regardless of the size of the order. Its minimum drop of £1,000, excluding tobacco, still applies. The introduction of the charge is said to be due to increasing driver costs and growing charges for vehicles, fuel and equipment, as well as the challenges posed by Covid-19. Following a review, Booker said it had no option but to introduce a delivery fee to provide a sustainable delivery service to all retailers. A spokesperson for the wholesaler commented: “We take these changes very seriously and regrettably have been forced to take this difficult decision d...

Namnews, 24th January 2022 A new, smaller convenience store concept has been launched by Booker’s Premier symbol group to capitalise on the latest trends in the sector. According to trade magazine The Grocer, the 600 sq. ft. store in Wheatley Hill, near Durham, has seen its weekly sales increase from £8,000 to £20,000 since recently undergoing a revamp to the new format. Having previously been a basic newsagent, the new format has put a major focus on fresh and chilled products, as well as food-to-go, vaping and premium spirits. As well as boosting sales, the store has seen its profit margins increase from 18% to 25% – with Premier said to be aiming to raise this figure to around 30%. Booker’s Brand Director Martyn Parkinson is quoted by The Grocer as saying: “I think smaller stores are going to be the next battleground in convenience. I think we have a really strong offer with this format and we are very excited about rolling it out further.”

 Namnews,  18th June 2021 Tesco saw a sharp slowdown in underlying sales growth during its first quarter, reflecting the tough comparatives with the same period last year when consumers were buying more food and drink from supermarkets for home consumption at the start of the pandemic. Over the 13 weeks to 29 May, the group’s UK like-for-like sales edged up 0.5% to £10.02bn, down from the growth of 7.7% recorded over its last financial year. However, compared to the same quarter in 2019, before the pandemic impacted trading, UK like-for-like sales were up 9.3% as the group continued to benefit from people eating more meals at home during the third lockdown. This growth peaked in March at 14.6% but moderated in April and May as restrictions started to ease and the hospitality sector began to reopen. Tesco highlighted that online demand remained high at 1.3m orders per week with two-year sales growth of 81.6%. One-year growth eased to 22.2%, reflecting the annualization of the s...

The Grocer, By  Lyndsey Cambridge | 19 April 2021 | Save article Source: Booker Retail sales soared 18.5% while the Best Food Logistics division suffered a 41% sales decline Booker sales surged 10.5% for the year to 27 February despite its catering division taking a major Covid-19 hit. According to figures included in parent company Tesco’s preliminary results last week, the wholesale giant enjoyed a 18.5% jump in retail sales as more shoppers turned to convenience stores during the crisis and increased their basket spend. This partially offset the blow to Booker’s foodservice division, Best Food Logistics. It saw sales decline by 41% as a result of its hospitality and leisure customers being shuttered for the majority of 2020. Booker took the decision to merge its Chef Direct foodservice business into the Best Food Logistics business in September. The move came after what The Grocer understood to be a £100m nosedive in sales, representing two-thirds of total sales. As catering dem...

  www.betterretailing.com The restructure is designed to offer 'bigger group benefits' for retailers Booker has restructured its wholesale and retail teams in order to unlock “bigger group benefits” for customers. Former Premier boss Martyn Parkinson, now oversees the Premier, Family Shopper, Shop Local and Booker’s wholesale customers. Former Londis leader Martin Swadling filled a newly created retail support director role, overseeing the wholesaler’s retail marketing, digital and promotional strategy. Regional director Stewart Fenn replaced Swadling as Londis brand director, while commercial director Dominic Morrey now oversees all group trading following the departure of his Booker Retail Partners counterpart Andrew Peek. A Booker spokesperson said: “As we continue our focus on improving choice, quality, price and service, and unlocking bigger group benefits for all of our retail customers, we are aligning the Booker Wholesale and Booker Retail Partners tra...

Namnews, 7th September 2020 Tesco has announced that Booker’s long-serving Chief Executive Charles Wilson is to retire in February 2021 having been diagnosed with throat cancer a couple of years ago. Following treatment, he remains in remission. However, Tesco stated that Wilson had decided that now was the time to step back and take it a little easier. He will be succeeded by Andrew Yaxley, who is currently Chief Product Officer for Tesco. A handover will begin from today. Yaxley will be replaced in his current role by Ashwin Prasad, who is promoted from his position as Commercial Director for Packaged Food. Wilson has led Booker for the last 15 years and played a key part in the wholesaler’s merger with Tesco, which was completed in early 2018. He was subsequently appointed as UK & Ireland Chief Executive for the wider Tesco business but then stepped down shortly afterwards when he was diagnosed with cancer. However, he remained on Tesco’s executive committee and focused on leadi...