Palmer & Harvey McLane has won a five-year contract worth £75m to supply Northcliffe Retail, commencing in January.

The best performers in the wholesale sector were highlighted at the top event in the trade's calendar, the FWD's Annual Dinner and Gold Medal Awards at the Savoy Hotel in London.

Booker is trialling a range of depot formats at six sites and is preparing to launch a new internet service.

MBL is planning to make fresh produce available to all Londis retailers by early next year. Following successful trials with 50 retailers, all stores serviced by the group's depot at Andover, Hampshire, can now have their fresh produce delivered through Londis.

The FWD is challenging the government to take action to stamp out duty fraud after presenting it with a set of recommendations.

The Today's Group has announced that next year's promotional campaign will be called Sporting Madness.

Blueheath has given more details of its recovery plan and chairman Richard Rose said it was scheduled to take the company through break even and into profit in the first quarter of 2007.

== New sandwich offer ==

In the same month Bestway celebrated its 30th anniversary with a glittering event at London's Grosvenor House it announced it was planning to open its 50th and 51st depots early next year.

The appointment of Dudley Ramsden as non-executive president of Nisa-Today's Holdings was approved by its annual general meeting on November 28. This followed his decision to retire as executive chairman, 30 years after he founded the group.

The Nestlé Rowntree Manager of the Month for December is awarded to Iain Hill, managing director of Iain Hill Ltd.

VINTAGE. The consumer these days is willing to pay more for a bottle of wine, say the experts. Market data says the average price paid for a bottle in the multiples is moving up - but is it in the independent? This is a seasonal note - but it's serious.

It has reached that time when we reflect back on the year just gone, and the year ahead. For cash and carries it has been a period of change and fierce competition. Almost half of all visits to cash and carries are now made by caterers rather than retailers, and supermarkets are now used regularly by 20% of independent retailers as a source for products to re-sell in their stores.

It was a visit to a Lincolnshire independent retailer which galvanised my thinking about the way in which the FWD My Shop Is Your Shop campaign, with its "Local and proud of it" slogan, has evolved.

With the backing of the Council of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors, the cash and carry and delivered wholesale sector has taken the principles of the My Shop Is Your Shop (MSYS) campaign by scruff of the neck with the decision to launch the first National Independents' Week in 2007.

In an average month, the IMA Group unit handling the Take Home Blueprint scheme on behalf of FWD can receive anything up to 200 enquiries from independent retailers nationwide.

Changes introduced by Booker's new management team to its catering offer appear to be working, with sales growing over the past quarter, reversing a long-term decline. Chief executive Charles Wilson said sales had fallen by 6.3% in the first quarter of the 2005/2006 financial year, compared with the previous year, but since then the shortfall had steadily reduced and sales growth of 1.9% was achieved in the second quarter of 2006/2007.

Wholesalers have demonstrated their faith in the future of their sector with a wave of investment in their businesses during 2006. New premises for a wide range of companies and trials of new formats such as those being undertaken by Booker (see page 23) are signs that wholesalers, and their suppliers, can look forward to 2007 with confidence.

Scottish & Newcastle has secured the rights to become the official drinks supplier to the city's Hogmanay Royal Bank Street Party and Concert in the Gardens.

Scottish & Newcastle has extended its current partnership with Aintree Racecourse to sponsor the John Smith's Grand National until 2010.

InBev UK has launched an outdoor and press advertising campaign for Stella Artois.

Heineken has launched a promotion designed to drive sales throughout rugby's Heineken Cup season.

The Wrigley Company has announced a re-launch of the Orbit range and the arrival of two new additions that will be available in January.

Walkers has introduced a three-case stacker merchandising unit containing 99p price-marked packs of Sensations and Doritos.

Nestlé Purina has launched new products for pets to enjoy during the festive season.

Special editions of the Hamlet Profit Drive Pack and the Hamlet Miniature Twin Pack have been released for the festive season.

Vimto Soft Drinks has launched price marked packs of its kids soft drink brand Panda.

This clever week-long campaign, supposedly aimed at employees of the group's business partners but earning masses of free publicity after it spread like wild fire over the internet, offers a 40% discount on all wine purchases. The deal is richer than its on-going 'Buy two get the third free' offer, but our retail customers should have no difficulty in matching these discounted prices given Threshers premium pricing policy on single bottles.

Old timers will remember Greensleeves Mint Chocolate Liqueur, a well-made product from IDV some 20 years ago that simply failed to capture the public's imagination at the time. The lesson? Never give up on a great idea for surely its day will come.

On-line retailer Ocado knows the problem only too well. Last week 14 out of 28 special offer wines were temporarily out of stock!

Dodgy characters on the fringe of the wholesale trade are selling major beer brands direct to retailers at prices well below our best cost and this is having a horrible effect on our overall performance. There is now little or no profit in beer, yet another category destined to failure if government fails stamp out illegal trading soon. The brewers don't look too happy with the state of affairs either.

Any activity which encourages retailers to improve ranging, merchandising and special offer activity is invaluable. Winning a VIP trip to Barbados for the 2007 World Cup is something else!

More examples are being reported of how independent retailers become more involved than ever with their local communities at Christmas.

Mike Taylor, managing director of Musgrave Budgens Londis, has resigned, and Martin Hyson, executive director of Musgrave Group, has taken over as managing director until a successor is found.

December is the month to reflect on the out-going year and make a few predictions. The Federation of Wholesale Distributors will look back on 2006 as the year the Competition Commission inquiry into the UK grocery market began.