Today's largest member Dhamecha has opened a cash and carry depot for south London traders. The company's fourth cash and carry, which cost £10m to establish, is based in Croydon and already has 1,000 customers registered, although chief executive Pradip Dhamecha hopes to increase that number to 2,500 in the first six months. To promote the new 75,000 sq ft depot, 12,000 colour brochures have been distributed to retailers in south London. The company has also appointed two former retailers to the posts of general manager and assistant manager along with 55 new staff. Dhamecha said he chose Croydon because of its good access links to motorways and because it did not overlap with existing operations. He said: "There are a large number of independent retailers in south London and we believe we can capitalise on that opportunity." He added the company was already considering a fifth depot which would be built somewhere within the M25. {{NEWS }}