It has been announced that the 'retail' division of the collapsed Conviviality wholesale group has been bought from the administrators for £7,250,000 by Bestway Direct Ltd, the delivery arm of Bestway Wholesale. The acquired businesses include the Bargain Booze off licence franchise operation, as well as the Wine Rack and Central Convenience retail chains.
Adds over 800 stores to Bestway's affiliated network
At the core of this acquisition is the franchise and distribution operation (comprising two depots), which support a network of over 800 stores, comprising some 700 independently owned franchise Bargain Booze outlets, as well as some 150 company-owned stores (mainly in the Central Convenience chain). This new customer base will complement Bestway's existing customer network of over 100,000 independent retailers, which includes 1,500 members of its Best-one symbol group, serviced through the Bestway Direct division.
And boosts scale in key categories
Bringing around £380m of additional wholesale sales to Bestway will boost its overall wholesale turnover to around £2.5bn. With a sales mix heavily weighted towards licensed categories (51% alcohol and 34% tobacco), Conviviality Retail will add significant additional scale to Bestway's well-established capabilities in these areas, enabling its customers across the enlarged business to benefit further in purchasing these key convenience store categories.
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