Debbie Harrison is the trading director at Pricecheck
What have you learnt from the past twelve months from the perspective of running a wholesale operation?
You can’t plan for everything! We can try, but having an agile business is what will keep you going through the tough times. That ability to accept and maybe even embrace change can lead to new opportunities. Thanks to this approach, we were able to develop and grow relationships, enhance our product offering and invest in technology.
How has your business changed since the pandemic hit?
We were always on a growth trajectory and the pandemic hasn’t changed much of our plans – maybe just the timeline and priorities!
Certain categories and accounts have become busier than we possibly thought, our e-commerce and digital offering has certainly exceeded expectation and we’ve hit 300 team members which was our target for 2025.
Read more: BW Year in Review Series: Convenience Wholesalers
As we hopefully head into a post-Covid world, what advice/tips can you offer from what you’ve experienced?
1. Don’t be afraid to try something new. If Covid-19 has taught us anything it’s to not take things for granted and now could be the time you’ve been waiting for to take your business to a new avenue.
2. Invest in the next generation. Predictions suggest that the younger generation will be hard hit on the recruiting front. Whilst recruitment may not be something many businesses can do for a while, consider looking at paid-internships, apprentices and graduates and invest in that next generation of talent.
