Cadbury Trebor Bassett’s centenary celebrations have continued with the launch of a Cadbury Dairy Milk Centenary Collection of heritage packs inspired by pack designs and advertising from 1905-2005.

As ProWholesaler went to press, the money-off coupon promotion in the Daily Mirror and Daily Record for National Independents’ Day (NID) on June 1 was top of every wholesaler’s agenda.

According to specialist confectionery cash and carry, Hancocks, the 2005 Easter season has reinforced the increasing difficulties that independent retailers are having, as a result of continuing action from the multiple retailers.

Fairtrade products are beginning to make inroads into the independent sector with wholesalers offering products such as chocolate, coffee and wine.

After a long search for suitable sites, Costco will open its 16th UK depot at Bristol on June 2.

Wholesaler investment in the future is at near record levels, according to the FWD chairman Rodney Hunt.

FWD director general Alan Toft capped off his final month before retirement with a special prize at Britvic’s Food & Drink Journalists Awards.

William Hague, former leader of the Conservative Party, will be one of the keynote speakers at Landmark’s 2005 Annual Conference ‘Vision into Reality’ at The Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Canada, between May 26 and June 1.

Online delivered wholesaler Blueheath boosted turnover 12% to £70.2m in the year to February 26 and is set to break even this year after significant expansion since its year end.

One of Northern Ireland’s largest independent wholesale and retail businesses, Henderson Group, has reported an annual turnover of £331m in 2004, up 16% on the previous year.

While some suppliers are working well with the wholesale sector, others do not understand it, or even make an effort to, warned Scottish Wholesale Association president Graham Benson.

The Martex Cash & Carry division of Scotland-based CJ Lang & Son is set to issue free beer chillers worth approximately £200 to all current members of its retail club.

A special support helpline has been set up to provide advice to wholesalers ahead of National Independents’ Day (NID) on June 1.

The recent survey in The Grocer on future intentions of independent retailers made interesting though unsurprising reading to those of us in the wholesale sector. While our experience bears out the facts of the story, most of us have a very different conclusion to draw from them.

The Nestlé Rowntree Manager of the Month for May is awarded to Jason Quinn, general manager of Booker, Middleton.

Been there and got the t-shirt will be given new meaning for National Independents’ Day (NID) on June l – a kit including T-shirts, caps and balloons is being provided for retailers who have committed to the day.

Licensees can have an easier and safer summer thanks to Booker introducing a plastic bottle variety on a number of key products. The new format covers eight brands including Stella Artois and Smirnoff Ice.

The independent retailer will make more progress in the drinks market if he or she follows the guidance of the Take Home Blueprint initatives.

A new charity may be launched focusing on the genuine independent sole trader and family business – the wholesalers’ core customer base – and the local community.

My Shop Is Your Shop and National Independents’ Day – these are the buzz words at our offices in Eastbourne as you would guess in the run up to the big day on June l.

Bruno Deschamps has been appointed group ceo of Brakes, taking over from Bill Driscoll who has stepped down to return to the United States for family related reasons.

Robert Upton, finance director of Spar wholesaler Capper & Co for eight years, has taken over as managing director of the company.

Steve Blackmore has been appointed to the newly created post of supply chain and management information director at Spar UK after five years as retail director.

The Council of the Scottish Wholesale Association has been strengthened with the appointment of three new members.

Job Title: wholesale trading controller

Maini Wholesale was the first recipient of a new award introduced this year at the Today’s Group Annual Member and Supplier Awards Dinner.

Despite heavy overnight rain which threatened the event, the Annual FWD Golf Day prior to the annual conference was a resounding success.

Coors Brewers’ Landmark sales team helped out at the grand opening of their newest Landmark customer, Elbrook Cash & Carry.

POLITICS. No, not the ghastly election with its nastiness but the more sophisticated politics of the trade and the consumer and the giant power bases. To whom could we give the credit for bringing home to the shopper, and to a listening trade, the facts of life and grocery politics?

At a time when the health of the nation has been at the forefront of election campaigning, with Tony Blair reinforcing his pledge to spend an additional £280m to improve school dinners, market research company ACNielsen can reveal that significant changes in the way our children are being fed are already beginning to take effect.

The latest results from the Cash and Carry Customer Tracking Programme show there are opportunities to develop and grow category sales by listening and reacting to customers.

Parfetts Cash & Carry has installed ATM machines at its Aintree depot and at its newest depot which recently opened in Sheffield.

Key Lekkerland has added Torex Retail’s Iridium EPOS and Prism back office solutions to its approved supplier scheme for its KeyStore symbol group.

Spar is rolling out a new EPOS system driven by equipment from Epson.

Makro targets big opportunities in catering

Douglas Gurr explained ways in which his wholesale company could use its technology to help manufacturers monitor and develop sales of their products.

The Federation of Wholesale Distributors has never been in safer hands and its Council is the strongest ever. This tribute to the ruling body of FWD was paid by director general Alan Toft in his farewell comments before his retirement.

While Tesco does benefit from an unfair market, independent retailers can fight back and prosper, according to Musgrave Budgens-Londis managing director Mike Taylor.

A call for greater trust and understanding between wholesalers and manufacturers came from Landmark Cash & Carry managing director Martin Williams and Coors off-trade sales director Kevin Brownsey.

Nestlé Rowntree’s wholesale trading director Andrew Marjoram highlighted three areas where improved execution could bring large rewards for manufacturers, wholesalers and independent retailers.

Regulatory challenges to Tesco’s market dominance should concentrate on its procurement power rather than its share of the retail market, according to an expert on competition law.

A number of lessons can be drawn from a comparison of the history of the Irish and British wholesale sectors, according to Dr Jim Quinn, director of business studies and language programmes at Trinity College’s School of Business Studies in Dublin.

Neil Turton, managing director of Nisa-Today’s, highlighted the substantial investment the group has made in its supply chain.

John Murphy has no illusions about the size of the task he is taking on, but he is quietly confident he will succeed. Not only is he taking charge of the FWD’s headquarters, but he is following a predecessor who had one of the highest profiles in the industry. Even before he became director general in 1990, Alan Toft was well known as the founder of Independent Grocer magazine (now IRN), and his subsequent revival of the FWD and vigorous promotion of the wholesale sector meant he was rarely out of the headlines.

On May 27, just ahead of National Independents’ Day (NID) on June l, money-off coupons for big brands will appear in The Daily Mirror and in Scotland’s Daily Record giving the consumer the best deals ever at local independent stores. This historic promotion will be wrapped in advertorial pages promoting the value of the family business and sole trader to the local community.

The UK drinks business is very much alive and wholesalers are responding well to the challenge of an expanding market place. Latest ACNielsen figures suggest multiple grocers have progressed at the expense of independents and specialists and record independents’ MAT value for spirits down 5.2% and light wine volumes down 1.3%.

Tim Burton’s new film version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, starring Johnny Depp, is in essence a 5,400-second ad for confectionery. So says Graham Walker, sales communications manager at Nestlé Rowntree, and he should know because it was Nestlé that supplied the film with its chocolate river.

McVitie’s is looking to reinvigorate the cake market with a relaunch of its slices range in new packaging designed to stand out on-shelf.

Bendicks (Mayfair) has introduced a new brand position, ‘It’s the Bendicks that counts’, which will be backed by a £2m advertising campaign in the run up to Christmas.

Coca-Cola Enterprises has announced it will be launching Nestea Iced Tea in the UK this month. Nestea Iced Tea is a leading iced tea brand in Europe, the US, Asia and parts of Latin America.

Panasonic is launching a range of batteries using a new type of technology which it claims will deliver up to three times more energy than alkaline batteries when used in digital equipment.

Quaker is continuing to develop its range of healthier snacks with the introduction of Snack-a-Jacks Chocolate Delights, a range of premium Snack-a-Jacks Jumbos in two new sweet flavours, Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Orange, and new Smoked Ham flavour Snack-a-Jacks Mini Bites.

Quaker is continuing to develop its range of healthier snacks with the introduction of Snack-a-Jacks Chocolate Delights, a range of premium Snack-a-Jacks Jumbos in two new sweet flavours, Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Orange, and new Smoked Ham flavour Snack-a-Jacks Mini Bites.

Cream cheese specialist The Laughing Cow has launched The Big Cheez Dipper, a snack pot of cheese with breadsticks, to appeal to consumers looking for an alternative snack to crisps or chocolate.

The flavoured milk drink Yazoo is having a makeover as part of an aggressive 2005 development for the brand from its maker Campina.

Ennis Shah says buying a second store was a massive decision for him and he wanted to ensure that he was using proved and tested guidance. “The Blueprints again proved their value. It is a formula that works every time,” he says.

The Blueprint Wine Wheels provide the answer when a customer asks the retailer for suggestions on what they should buy to accompany a meal they are planning. By simply referring to the suggestions on the wheels the retailer and their staff, or the shoppers, can then identify a suitable bottle with confidence.

The Take Home Blueprints have consistently recognised chilled drinks as an imperative for independent retailers.