The British Bankers Association (BBA) is calling for higher confidence in bank lending from SMEs in the retail sector and launching a campaign to let businesses know they are a lot more likely to get bank finance than they think. The BBA’s
Discount Wholesale, Poundworld’s online wholesale operation has announced a massive rise increase in its annual sales. Launched in May 2012, the website www.discount-wholesale.co.uk is reported to have experienced a rapid year-on-year increase in online sales of 425%. The company, which also runs
Thai cash and cash operator, Siam Makro, is investing in a new retail business platform to deliver actionable insight and optimised operations and support its Pan-Asian growth objectives. The multi-format retail company has selected Oracle Retail solutions to offer the
Employees from across Blakemore Foodservice, Wakefield, have spread some Christmas cheer and donated a cheque for £2,000 to a children’s cancer charity in Leeds. Staff nominated Candlelighters as their charity of the year and have organised a number of fundraising
The Chancellor has announced that there will be a new registration scheme for alcohol wholesalers as a way of tackling alcohol fraud. The register will be run by HM Revenue and Customs, and will take effect in 2016. From 2014,
Blakemore Wholesale has announced the launch of a new Click & Collect service, available in seven cash & carry depots. The service allows business owners to dramatically reduce the amount of time spent away from their business premises, the company
AF Blakemore has launched new company logos all its business divisions to create a more uniform look. Blakemore Retail, meanwhile, has transformed its Bishops Castle forecourt in Shropshire following its recent acquisition from the Co-operative. The new corporate logos and
Palmer and Harvey, the UK’s leading delivered wholesaler, has signed a rolling agreement with One Stop to become the official supply partner for chilled products. Palmer and Harvey has been supplying One Stop’s chilled range since April 2013. The deal
Heart Distribution, the AF Blakemore operation set up to aid small, local producers with getting their products to market, has launched a new initiative to help small producers grow their businesses. The Heart Distribution Producer Growth Scheme, which was launched in
A Worcester-based hospice has received funding from a Spar retailer to support the day-to-day care of patients at the hospice. Burn’s & Co’s Spar Malvern Springs Service Station donated £428 to St Richard’s Hospice through the stores open event on
AF Blakemore has extended its charitable trust to recognise the wide range of community activity undertaken by independent Spar stores across the Meridian & Welsh Guild. The Blakemore Foundation, which represents two per cent of AF Blakemore’s pre-tax profits, was
Employees from Blakemore Foodservice have donated £6,000 to Birmingham Children’s Hospital through 12 months of fundraising initiatives. Employees nominated Birmingham Children’s Hospital as their charity of the year for 2012/13 and held a number of fundraising activities throughout the year
An employee from Spar wholesaler, AF Blakemore, has completed a 227 mile cycle challenge from Holyhead to Pontypool in aid of the Bristol Children’s Hospital. Iestyn Rhodes from AF Blakemore’s IT Support team raised £1,000 for Bristol Children’s Hospital by
Irish food wholesaler, Musgrave, is investing in space planning and planogram automation solutions from software supplier Symphony EYC. This will provide Musgrave with the ability to optimise retail shelf space and generate planograms automatically for its independent retail partners and make
James Hall, the Spar wholesaler for the north of England, is re-launching its Hall’s Family Butchers meat range in its 150th anniversary year. The range’s new packaging highlights the British origin and traceability of the meat and includes a ‘Try
The Spar Lancashire School Games, a leading UK sporting event for children, kicked-off at The Breck primary school, Poulton le Fylde on 4 February 2013. The Lancashire Lion; school games organiser, Lee Cadwallader; Rachel Wood from Lancashire Sport; Fiona Addison and
The 2012 Spar Lancashire School Games were reported to be a roaring success, completed by more than 2,300 primary and secondary school pupils from across Lancashire. Part of the national £128m school games programme, the Spar Lancashire School Games are
Spar wholesaler, James Hall & Co, has revamped its Spar brand Savoury Pies and Slices range and moved to a local supplier to improve the quality and value of an already successful range.The new range will be packed in pre-printed
Spar wholesaler, James Hall, has launched a range of fresh fish from upmarket supplier, Fine Seafood Company. The Spar wholesaler for the north of England said it has made the move in order to improve the quality and shelf-life of
The People’s Supermarket is teaming up with Spar to help secure the future for the central London co-operative supermarket. Under the partnership agreement, Spar wholesaler and retailer, AF Blakemore, will become the main wholesale grocery supplier for The People’s Supermarket; alongside
Discount retailer, Poundworld is targeting independent retailers, e-Bay sellers and market traders, with the launch of a discount wholesale website, www.discount-wholesale.co.uk. Launching this week, Poundworld claims the website will help Britain’s small retailers succeed in their business ventures by offering the
Spar retailer and wholesaler AF Blakemore has been presented with a certificate of appreciation for its ongoing support of the Poppy Appeal by The Royal British Legion. The certificate presentation (11 April 2012) was arranged by The Royal British Legion
Spar has renewed its platinum sponsorship of the Balmoral Show, 16–18 May 2012 at the King’s Hall, Belfast. According to the retailer, the move underlines its commitment and support of the agricultural sector and local suppliers. Paddy Doody, sales and marketing director
Metro Cash & Carry Germany, a leading self-service wholesaler with 107 wholesale stores and 3.5m customers, has completed its implementation of JDA Space & Category Management solutions, including JDA Space Planning and JDA Floor Planning. According to JDA Software its Space Planning solution provides store-specific, micro-merchandising and collaboration capabilities
CJ LANG & Son, the long-established Dundee-based independent food and drink wholesaler, has been named the Best Licensed Wholesaler (Off Trade) at the Scottish Wholesale Achievers awards. Still a family-owned business, CJ Lang owns 108 Spar stores across Scotland and supplies
