Elit Rowland, Editor Better Wholesaling
I recently had a conversation with a wholesaler and supplier about what the channel will look like in 10 years’ time. Between us, we came up with a few ideas…
Today’s Group and Landmark will consolidate into one super buying group – the combined purchasing power will be bigger than any single wholesaler.
More wholesalers will diversify into foodservice, while foodservice wholesalers will diversify into retail. Some will even move towards the Costco business model, which opens its doors to the consumer. Booker is already doing a good job of being a Jack-of-all-trades – it’s integrating the best bits of its business into 50% of Makro sites, using the additional space of the Makro model to accommodate a delivery area.
Whatever happens in the next decade, one message from my meeting was clear: the survival of any business depends on how well you work with suppliers.
The people I was talking to were GSK’s Jo Cooper and Hyperama’s Marcus Singh. The meeting was for a project designed to promote collaboration in the channel. On page 20, we tell the story of how Jo and Marcus improved communication and developed a joint business plan to enjoy three years of consecutive growth. We think there’s a lot to learn from this brilliant story – we even made a video, which you can watch here.
