BEW hits out at ending of exclusivity The start of this year's ice cream season will be marked by the biggest shake up the industry has ever seen. From March 31, retailers with a Wall's freezer will be able to use up to 50% of the space to stock products from any manufacturer (see p14). Trade and industry secretary Stephen Byers has told Birds Eye Wall's to end its freezer exclusivity deals as part of a package of measures recommended by the Competition Commission for the impulse sector. Byers has also banned outlet exclusivity deals. And he is looking at how to limit the amount of product BEW delivers direct to retailers. In the meantime, Wall's is being forced to raise the commission its pays to independent wholesalers to 22.5%. The measures are a blow for Birds Eye Wall's which controls two thirds of the impulse sector. Tony Pearce, BEW's sales director, described the recommendations variously as "a mess, a nonsense, unfair, unworkable and discriminatory". The company is taking legal advice and could seek a judicial review of Byers' decision. But a jubilant Mars claims the recommendations accepted by Byers will finally break what it calls the "interlocking web of exclusivity practices employed by BEW". l Wholesalers Harlech Frozen Foods and Speediserve started proceedings to recover commission and compensation from Wall's for termination of their dedicated distributor agreements a year ago. {{NEWS }}