Booker has been accused of failing to support indies following its decision to supply products to BHS.
The retailer opened its first BHS Food concession last week in Staines and opened a second, in Warrington, on Thursday. Booker has revealed it is the supplier , prompting wholesalers to claim Booker is “inflicting more competition” on struggling indies.
“I am disappointed Booker has chosen to go down this route,” said James Hall, group symbol director for Bestway . “As leading wholesalers, we have a responsibility to our independent customers to help grow their businesses. The more multiple retailers that enter the high street, the less room there is for independents.”
A promotional leaflet for the Staines store also revealed BHS promotions were identical to those offered by Booker to its Premier symbol group stores. The promotions include Booker’s Mega Deal, launched in 2012 to give indies footfall-driving offers on big brands.
BHS is also stocking Booker’s own-label ranges Euro Shopper and Happy Shopper, and its fresh produce range Farm Fresh - previously only available to indies. “The wholesale channel needs to innovate and devise strategies that ‘hatch not detach’, Hall added.
A senior convenience source agreed: “It seems crazy to upset indies like this without masking the offer by not using Euro Shopper and by offering different promotions.”
However, a senior wholesale source said he did not believe BHS’s entry into convenience was a big threat. “I’m not sure it’s a grocery game-changer in the way that the Continental and latterly UK discounters have been,” he said.
A Booker spokeswoman said the location of BHS stores had “very little overlap with Premiers and our independent customers”.
“By making our own brands available on the high street it will broaden the consumer appeal of Happy Shopper,” she added. “It will give increased scale allowing Premier and our retail customers to achieve even lower prices versus the multiple grocers.”
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