A new pricing structure from Palmer & Harvey will make it easier for retailers to judge its competitiveness against rivals.

The UK's largest wholesaler launched the initiative this month, as part of a wider 'New Deal' for retailers. P&H commercial director Peter Austen said the company had overhauled its pricing structure in order to be more transparent.

The wholesaler's chilled, frozen, ambient and alcoholic offers have been consolidated under a single terms structure, doing away with complex discounts in favour of net pricing, he said. P&H previously offered discounts based on scale, which Austen said made it difficult for retailers to accurately compare prices with those of rivals, including leading cash & carry operators.

Like Tesco, whose adverts have compared actual shopping basket prices against those of its rivals, P&H will use real shopping baskets typically bought by retailers to ensure pricing is favourable in comparison to the market.

The new pricing structure will be supplemented by "strong promotional activity, excellent availability, coupled with strong ranging and business advice", Austen said. Nothing was being forced on retailers and those wishing to stick to existing terms could do so, he stressed, adding that the new deal was already proving popular.

"To date, the uptake has been excellent, with over 70% of customers contacted opting to adopt the new package," he explained.

The deal is being targeted at 7,000 independent retailers and is the latest element of a three-year process to improve the P&H offer for independents. Austen admitted the offer had become tired and was not suitable for the many different types of retail customer it supplied.

Next week P&H will relaunch its Mace symbol fascia with a new logo and extra marketing support.

Just last month, it announced a new van sales operation for confectionery called Sweetdirect. The scheme will operate from 15 depots and operate 100 vans across the UK.