Hothi Cash and Carry has been re-branded as HT & Co (Drinks) and expanded its depot at Park Royal in west London.

As ProWholesaler went to press, the FWD PR Action Group (PRAG) driving the My Shop Is Your Shop campaign was drawing up plans for autumn activity.

Athif Sarwar, managing director of United Wholesale (Scotland), has been sentenced to three years in jail after being convicted of an £845,000 money laundering scam.

The private equity company that owned Brakes has sold the business to another private equity company for a sum believed to worth up to £1.4bn.

One of the best known figures in the Scottish wholesale and independent retailer trade has been awarded a life time achievement award.

There was a flurry of activity from Musgrave Group last week as it revealed the identity of MBL's new managing director and then it bought one of its major competitors in Northern Ireland.

Booker has launched a new line of economy products under the brand name Euro Shopper.

Representatives of the FWD, Association of Convenience Stores and other trade bodies held urgent meetings with the Competition Commission last week after it published "working papers" dismissing some of the arguments they have put forward to the Inquiry into the Grocery sector.

== Brakes takes gold ==

Delivered wholesaler Sun Oil has joined Landmark Wholesale. The Middlesex-based wholesaler specialises in the delivery of ambient grocery to a mainly retail-customer base, with more than 300 customers located within the M25, and also has an export business, which won it the Queen's Award for Export Achievement.

The fresh fish offering from 3663 has been expanded from 44 lines to 350 in response to increasing consumer demand.

The Nestlé Rowntree Manager of the Month Award for July is awarded to Garry Williams, manager of the Hillview depot, Holmes Cash & Carry, Belfast.

Landmark Wholesale is aiming to boost independent retailers' sales using learnings about the best selling products in its Hot House programme.

Detailed micronutrient information is now available for all of 3663's 762 own brand products.

Bestway Cash & Carry Group held its annual charity racing day at Royal Ascot for this year's chosen charity, Barnardo's.

"Change" is Gordon Brown's mantra, and his first big change for our industry was the appointment of Hilary Benn to head the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The move was probably not so much an appreciation of Mr Benn's fittingness for the job as the need to replace the previous incumbent, David Miliband, who became Foreign Secretary at just 41-years old. His parliamentary career has been meteoric since he became an MP six years ago, so it is probably not surprising that he managed to spend a mere year at Defra.

Based on reports from wholesalers, My Shop Is Your Shop campaigners estimate that a record 45,000 independent retailers were involved in some way in the first National Independents' Week last month.

Jenks has appointed Jon Stowe as supply chain director for its UK-wide distribution and logistics operation.

Dave Birch has been appointed contract manager for MBL, based at the retailer service centre in Wellingborough.

Graham McPherson, deputy chairman of Palmer & Harvey, will become President of the Confectioners Benevolent Fund on September 1.

? Job title: group negotiator

Diageo GB was this year's winner of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors Drinksummit Vase.

Brakes products won eight awards at the British Frozen Food Federation 2007 Annual Awards, including Catering Product of the Year for its Gratin Dauphinoise.

The Blueprint Retailer of the Year award has been won by Ansir Amin of Mr Convenience, Great Sankey. Ansir was unable to accept the award in person when it was presented at Drinksummit, so it was collected by Andy Amin and Ajmal Amin on his behalf. From left: Ross Shelley, scheme director of THBP, Andy Amin and Ajmal Amin, and Francis Ball, chairman of FWD.

Bestway Group and Procter & Gamble have been targeting catering businesses with a 'Clean Up with P&G Spring Special'.

== September ==

COVET. Shaken by headlines following a shambolic annual meeting at which shareholders baulked at even higher cash awards to top directors, Tesco must wish it could attract the genuinely caring images won by the My Shop Is Your Shop campaign.

For a number of years, 25% of retailers leaving a cash and carry said they failed to buy an intended item, with 85% of these blaming out-of-stock. HIM worked out that this equates to approximately £750m worth of lost sales.

The first ever National Independents' Week, the new centrepiece of the FWD My Shop Is Your Shop campaign, saw thousands of local shops throughout the country celebrating the event.

The D&S Supersave in Barnsley has seen a dramatic sales increase across its alcohol category following a FWD Take Home Blueprint makeover. Owner Suki Kaur has seen her wines increase by 20% and ARTDs (alcoholic ready to drinks), a category that she was looking to reduce due to poor sales, has had a 30% uplift in sales.

Village News in the Grenoside area of Sheffield is a small but well-stocked independent store in a great location with plenty of passing and local trade. Owner Mathew allocated a large proportion of space to alcohol, and felt it was "ticking over nicely".

One of the keys for a supplier seeking a good relationship with a wholesaler is good communications, according to Dhamecha trading director Mukesh Vithlani, and when it comes to the soft drinks category, he says, no one does it better than GlaxoSmithKline.

The potential rewards for bringing spirits out from behind the counter in independent stores, and a way to do it, was outlined by Belinda Hughes and Graham Dorrington, senior category development managers at Diageo.

Ross Shelley, scheme director of Take Home Blueprint, emphasised that it helped retailers serve their customers better with the right products at the right time.

Peter Reynolds, senior client manager of Nielsen, warned that Britain is currently a nation in debt, that liquor is a luxury, and luxuries are the first to go when consumers have to economise.

John Baines, senior trading controller of Today's Group, quoted Oscar Wilde, saying: "'A cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing' and how true that is when you apply it to the average customer."

Whyte & Mackay has a plan to develop from a Scottish regional player to a global leader within five years, sales director Simon Oldham told delegates at Drinksummit.

Neil Barker, commercial director of Foster's EMEA, highlighted Foster's joint venture at Parfett's depot in Stockport, called the Foster's Wine Bar.

John Mills, managing director, Gaymer Cider Company, made a call for the impulse sector to make cider a "hero category".

Rob Hart, Booker Group's category manager for spirits, explained the opportunities that exist by flexing ranges to suit seasonal variance in sales.

Quality at the right price was the message of the presentation by Steve Barnett, trading director, Costco.

Graham Holter, group editor of Off Licence News, Wine & Spirit and Drinks International, spoke about the challenges facing the wholesalers' customers.

As consumers become ever more concerned about what they are eating, and caterers of all types try to satisfy their growing requirements, the burden is increasingly being passed on to foodservice wholesalers. Their customers are seeking information such as dietary suitability (kosher, vegan, halal), intolerance information (nuts, dairy, eggs, fish, soybeans, lupin flour) and nutritional data (salt content, cholesterol, saturated fats) about the products they are supplying.

The second phase of 3663's locally sourced product initiative in East Anglia has been launched, and the occasion was marked by staging a farmers' market at 3663's Stowmarket depot on June 19. Twenty suppliers from East Anglia show-cased approximately 200 new products available to 3663 customers in the region.

Nestlé FoodServices has launched its third Twist on Classics competition, this time offering chefs the chance to win a trip to China.

Australian wine brand Hardys has launched a Hardys Chef of the Year competition.

Heinz has an on-pack promotion running throughout August and September giving caterers the chance to win up to £5,000.

Unilever Foodsolutions has launched the Salad Obsessions promotion with its Hellmann's brand.

Typhoo has launched a range of teas exclusively for the foodservice market under its London Fruit & Herb brand.

England became the last part of the UK to ban smoking in public places on July 2, but tobacco manufacturers are confident the move will not have a lasting impact on overall sales. Wales and Northern Ireland also implemented similar legislation in April, but wholesalers and retailers in all three countries had the experience of Scotland in 2006 and the Republic of Ireland in 2004 to draw on when preparing for the change.

Innovation is vital for manufacturers, and their wholesale customers, who are looking for a competitive advantage and in this section we showcase some of the work that is being carried out.

Walkers is about to launch a new campaign highlighting its crisps' provenance and natural ingredients, and will also be redesigning the packaging and introducing new flavours.

Cadbury Trebor Bassett has launched Trident Splash Raspberry & Peach.

Britvic has removed artificial flavours and colours from its Tango range, and extended the range with the launch of a new citrus flavour. The bottle has a new shape and pack design which aims to reflect the updated credentials and contemporary image.

United Biscuits UK has launched multigrain Hula Hoops, which are made from a combination of rice flour, maize flour and wheat bran.

Unilever UK is investing £1.5m in its biggest on-pack ice cream promotion in the UK, as part of the £6.5m marketing support behind the Magnum range this year.

InBev has introduced a new look for its lager brand XXXX. Statements about the nature of the brand - such as "A beer not a lifestyle choice" and "Goes with meat or fish or neither'" -supported by a new "Thank XXXX for that" strap line, will be flashed across the new can and bottle instead of traditional branding.

Halewood International has launched the Maguires cider brand with the aim of becoming a significant player in the cider category over the next 12 months.

Scottish & Newcastle is celebrating the 80th anniversary of the launch of Newcastle Brown Ale with a new look limited edition bottle label which will appear on the 550ml bottles from August.

First Drinks Brands has added Russia's leading premium vodka, Russian Standard, to its portfolio.

The grim weather is having an impact on key categories as we feared, but thankfully none of our regulars have been affected by flooding. Unless the sun comes out soon, we'll have to renegotiate our soft drink overriders.

Will this lead to more choco-chews from other major confectioners? Probably.

Nestlé, Heinz and Carlsberg must believe there is a strong viable market for Polish goods given their intentions but with more than 345,000 immigrants from all over eastern Europe registering to work in the UK since May 2004, we need to take a balanced view and proceed with caution.

The growth of honey sales at the expense of marmalade, down 10% over the past two years, again reflects our desire for more healthy natural foods. Time for a range review I think.

The number of world lagers fighting for shelf space is growing every day and it is very tough winning over consumers. Just ask Budweiser which has now withdrawn its excellent Silver brand after less than a year.

Premier Foods has launched Branstein Baked Beans with added Omega 3.

Musgrave Group has bought one of its major rivals in Northern Ireland.