Following strong growth in 2017, north-west regional cash & carry wholesaler, Parfetts has set out ambitious 2018 plans for the further expansion of its retail group, Go Local. Having recruited nearly 800 additional members to its retail club in 2016/17, Parfetts now aims to boost membership past 2,500 in the current year (from 2,288 in 2017). Within this, Parfetts has set itself the goal of expanding the number of stores operating under the Go Local fascia to 400 versus 306 in 2017.
'Excellent' 2017 sales reported
In the last reported financial year (to June 2017) Parfetts saw sales reach £324m, up 5.6%. And this strong performance continued into the second half of the calendar year, commenting on trade over the key Christmas period Parfetts reported total sales up 8.8% over the five weeks. Furthermore with the negative effects of tobacco excluded sales were up 12.5%.
Boosted by alcohol registration scheme and demise of P&H
A key factor in Parfett's buoyant sales has been the implementation of the Government's Alcohol Wholesale Registration Scheme (effective for UK wholesalers from 1 April 2016), which has reduced the supply of illicit alcohol and brought independent retail customers back to purchasing licensed drinks from traditional (and compliant) wholesalers such as Parfetts. In the final month of the 2017, Parfetts along with many other cash & carry wholesalers also benefited from the collapse of delivered wholesaler, Palmer & Harvey, which left many of its customers (including Costcutter retailers) seeking stop-gap sources of supply.
Commenting on the impact of forthcoming sector acquisitions Parfetts said:
'The markets within which the company operates are highly competitive and there is constant pressure on both sales and margins. The planned Tesco purchase of Booker will increase the commercial pressures on the wholesale sector and this makes it more important than ever that we continue to offer our customers excellent service, range and availability.'
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