The wholesale channel offers the best opportunity for product manufacturers to increase sales over the next few years, says the Federation of Wholesale Distributors.
“Our message to the suppliers is that while they have been struggling for the past few years to grow their sales into the multiples, they’ve been sitting on a gold mine all along,” says says FWD chief executive James Bielby.
With the multiples shelving their plans for out-of-town expansion and consumers re-discovering the benefits of shopping close to home, the time is right for suppliers to shift their emphasis towards wholesalers and the million small businesses they supply and support.
But the real opportunity for suppliers lies beyond retail, says Bielby. “Our members support cafes, pubs, coffee bars, restaurants and hundreds of other types of independent businesses.
“Consumers don’t think in terms of channel or route to market – they see products on shelves and menus, and with our experience of working with a million varied small businesses, we can help product suppliers put the perfect offer into business types where they may have little or no penetration.”
The FWD conference on July 11 will demonstrate how brand owners can boost sales through a million small foodservice and retail businesses. Details at www.fwd.co.uk.
