Key Lekkerland has appointed Hugh Graham to the new role of national account controller to expand the national contracts handled by the group.

Booker has successfully completed the first stage of a three phase recovery plan, chief executive Charles Wilson told delegates at the FWD's Annual Conference.

Independent retailers throughout the UK are taking part in the biggest ever research project into their market. The project will build the first true picture of the sole trader and family business and their interface with the local community.

Costco's UK chief Francis Ball was unanimously elected chairman of the FWD at its annual general meeting last week.

Wholesalers working with the My Shop Is Your Shop (MSYS) campaign will soon have a creative promotional platform on which their independent retailers can link up with their local Premiership and Football League clubs.

Sheffield is set to become one of the most competitive cash and carry markets in the UK with the addition of a second newly built depot within two years.

The growing problem of duty fraud in beer and wine was highlighted by the outgoing FWD chairman Rodney Hunt in his opening address to the FWD Annual Conference.

Growth in the overall grocery wholesaling market in 2005 was the slowest for over a decade and the total cash and carry sector fell in value by 1.8%, according to the research body IGD.

Two hundred and thirty two local independent retailers have written letters to Stockport Council objecting to a Tesco Extra store that has been open for almost 18 months despite exceeding its planning consent by more than 18,000 sq ft.

James Ward has left Blueheath to concentrate on developing the cash and carry business owned by his family.

Sterling Supergroup has grown with the addition of a new member and with three existing members moving to bigger premises.

Booker has announced that from the beginning of April it now accepts payment by credit card.

The Nestlé Rowntree Manager of the Month for April is awarded to Trevor Boyd, manager of Holmes Cash & Carry in Newtownards.

Hopkinson Catering has awarded King UK a three-year sole supply contract to supply and manage non food products to its sites across the UK.

3663 has been recognised with the Investor in Excellence (IIE) standard at its Manchester site.

How long is a bit of string? You might well ask the same about Competition Commission inquiries. We have been all but promised one by the Office of Fair Trading for the grocery market, but this investigation will probably take at least two years to complete.

Five wholesalers will make presentations at the 2006 Drinksummit which takes place at The Oxford Belfry, off the M40, on June 8 and 9.

Catersummit was launched by the Federation of Wholesale Distributors in 1989 to focus on the importance of the foodservice sector in the wholesale market.

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Costcutter has promoted finance and IT director Nick Ivel to managing director.

DBC Foodservice has announced the appointment of Peter Judge as managing director. He took over after the retirement of Derek Kidd at the end of last year.

april

The Today's Group will officially kick off its new Football Crazy promotional concept later this month at Nisa-Today's Annual Exhibition at the NAC in Stoneleigh, near Coventry.

A customer at Booker's Rochester depot has won an all-inclusive holiday for two in Mexico.

The annual retailer development programmes staged by Bestway got under way last month at the Marriott Hotel, York. The two-day seminar was co-hosted by Nestlé Rowntree and involved a series of talks and presentations on "Getting the most from your business" given by a range of the major suppliers.

FRUSTRATION. That can be the only emotion engulfing wholesalers on reading the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) briefings to the national and trade press.

With 41% of visitors to cash and carries buying crisps and snacks the category is the fifth best selling in depot. So what's the appeal?

Landmark Wholesale has invested £80,000 in Microsoft Axapta, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) application, from software vendor Ardent Solutions.

Toyota Industrial Equipment has made a number of improvements to the design of its 7FBMF forklift range, which is widely used in the food and drink sector. The electric powered trucks ensure there are no diesel or gas emissions in food and drink handling environments.

Foodservice wholesaler Serious Food Distribution is making a £50,000 investment in a 15-user Accord system from Business Computer Projects.

When Landmark Cash & Carry's biggest member, Bestway, left the buying group in November 2003, few even within Landmark would have considered the buying group a major operator in the foodservice sector. But fast forward to the present day and the renamed Landmark Wholesale is beginning to flex its considerable muscle in the sector and has ambitions to become even more powerful.

The eating out market is perking up a little. To some this statement may come as a surprise: hasn't the industry been in boom times for some years? Well, yes and no.

Pritchitts has launched Millac Cappuccino Milk, a milk that makes it easier to achieve the perfect cappuccino and latte by guaranteeing a consistent foam.

Nestlé FoodServices will be offering cash and carry customers the opportunity to win flights every day from May 1st.

Wrigley has announced that it has appointed Fusion FSM to act as sales brokers to expand its business through a range of foodservice facilities. The initial contract is for a year and starts with immediate effect.

On the morning of May 26, more than five and a half million readers of the Daily Mirror and Daily Record will open their favourite paper to read the latest news from Iraq, the new trouble for the Government and the big pop news. They will also find in their papers four pages of promotion for the nation's independent c-stores and newsagents.

The £1.1bn ice cream market is driven by a high level of new product development with ice cream versions of popular confectionery featuring very heavily in the retail sector. Masterfoods now has ice creams based on its own Mars, Snickers, Maltesers, Galaxy and Bounty, while Fredericks Dairies and Richmond Ice Cream have licensing agreements with Cadbury and Nestlé respectively.

Government pressure to discourage smoking is increasing all the time with the ban on smoking in public places coming into force in Scotland last month, and plans for similar legislation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland over the next 18 months. This follows on from the ban on tobacco advertising and increasing levels of tax and duty on tobacco which have resulted in UK smokers paying the second highest prices in Europe.

The wine market is booming with ACNielsen's light wine GB off trade figures showing a 4.3% volume increase in 2005, driven principally by the multiples, while independents, included in the GB impulse volume data, grew by 2.7%. Australian wine has the largest share overall, with 21 out of every 100 bottles consumed, but independents continue to over perform on Californian wines with sales leapfrogging both Australia and France last year to a record 20.9% share of business.

Astore taking part in a nationwide trial designed to increase independent retail sales of spirits sold more 70cl bottles in the two months post-Christmas than it did in the festive period itself. The success has been achieved by transferring spirits from behind the counter to open shelves near the till. Loss of profit through theft has been recorded as nil.

Paul Cowens took over Paper Shop Plus, in Blackpool, from his father at the start of the year, and significantly invested in the store to refurbish all the fixtures and fittings. Once that work was completed, through his wholesaler Turner & Wright he decided to get help from the FWD Take Home Blueprint team on the range and layout of his off licence section.

Walkers has relaunched its luxury snacks brand, Sensations. New seasoning, packaging and advertising will be introduced across the whole of the Walkers Sensations range. The flavours in the crisp range include: Gently Infused Lime & Thai Spices, Slow Roasted Lamb & Moroccan Spices and Simply Sea Salt. Lime & Coriander Chutney poppadoms and Japanese Beef Teriyaki crackers are also being introduced.

United Biscuits is demonstrating its commitment to the UK's growing health concerns by investing £1.5m to support the relaunch and re-formulation of its Mini Cheddars range. They will now contain 30% less saturated fat, 10% less sodium, no MSG and no artificial colours, flavours of preservatives.

Two of Cadbury's most successful brands are joining forces to create a new bar, Cadbury Dairy Milk with Creme Egg.

Mars is temporarily changing its name to tie in with the World Cup and becoming the Believe bar.

Pot Noodle is set for a reinvention of products, packaging and communications. Unilever UK Foods is carrying out a £10m relaunch of the brand, with marketing including TV, poster, direct mail and sampling.

Extensions of the Quality Street and After Eight brands are included in Nestlé Rowntree's Christmas line-up.

Unilever UK Foods is launching an on-pack promotion for all football fans. The SMS draw will run across ten million Peperami Sticks and Peperami Noodles packs with 500 Fanimals to be given away every day throughout the World Cup.

United Biscuits is set to launch a new collection of biscuits, McVities Moments, aimed at the "special treat" sector. They are described as a response to the growing trend of consumers willing to pay a premium for high quality ingredient treats.

Pringles has launched a promotion to tie in with the World Cup.

Wrigley has a new addition to the Extra brand. Extra Fire gives a fiery burst of minty breath freshening.

InBev UK has launched a range of price-marked packs to stimulate impulse purchase and drive beer volume.

Carling's Love Football campaign will give consumers the chance to win cash prizes, worth up to £50, during all 64 matches in the World Cup.

Diageo is involved in two major launches. This month it is introducing Classic Mix and next month it will unveil Quinn's.

Global Brands has announced it will take on the UK-wide distribution of the Chinese beer Tsingtao. It has an ABV of 4.5% and is available in 330ml and 640ml bottles.

Now the south east is facing a drought and hose pipe bans are in place. How would Dasani have coped with standby taps?

Nestlé's Buxton Water wants a slice of the action, too, and the launch of Strawberry Splash and Lemon Wave in 250ml looks like another successful lunch box entry. Neither can we ignore CCE's Oasis Fusion. ACNielsen says non-carbonated drinks are on a roll so let's wait and see what happens. Funny, just as Jamie Oliver gets quality back into school lunches, the market improves the quality of lunch boxes.

With Irn-Bru 32 spending on national media support too, the energy drink market certainly is looking interesting these days - if not a little overcrowded.

Blame the wholesale fraternity and trade press. Both have a key roll in communicating with the sector. A local church is selling over £2,000 of Fair Trade products a year to its congregation on Sunday mornings after service on a not for profit basis. It has no wish to compete with the local independent retailer and has now persuaded it to take on a selection of Fair Trade goods. If only this could happen nationwide. We are now stocking and actively featuring Fair Trade products, including wines, and want to do our bit in supporting third world countries. Most wholesalers have a heart.

What's the betting Scotch Whisky producers slip in a price increase? The nine pence tax rise on cigarettes has made the street sellers of counterfeit and smuggled product deliriously happy. Is there any major town or city not affected by this scourge?

By the time that this piece appears, we may know whether or not the OFT has referred the grocery market to the Competition Commission for an investigation. I think it is safe to say that there will be uproar should the referral not take place, although the multiples' PR machines are already hard at work trying to prove that it is unnecessary. We live in an age where exaggeration is the norm, but I firmly believe that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our sector. Both ACS and FWD have worked enormously hard, and against an intransigent OFT, to achieve this result, but important and encouraging as it is, it is only the first step on a long road.

== Minimum wage rise ==