Pre-tax profits at Booker Group rose 30% to £47.2m on sales up 3.3% to £3.2bn for the year to March 27. Like-for-like sales to caterers and other non-retailers were up 7%, and sales to retailers were up 1%.

Jenks Sales Brokers entire workforce has been made redundant after it went into administration on Monday.

My Shop is Your Shop campaigners received news of more support as ProWholesaler went to press. The latest source of involvement came from News International, publisher of The Sun and The Scottish Sun.

Leading wholesalers will be teaming up with their customers to make presentations at this year's Drinksummit.

The Federation of Wholesale Distributors has welcomed Government moves announced in last month's Budget to counter duty fraud on alcohol, after intensively lobbying for action.

Government plans to ban the display of tobacco in stores have progressed through Parliament after a move to overturn them failed.

The FWD has announced that its director general John Murphy will retire at the end of this month, and will be succeeded by his deputy James Bielby, with the new title of chief executive.

DBC Foodservice has been bought by three directors of the Iceland retail group.

Today's has reported an overall increase in volume of +13.6%, according to its trading figures for the first quarter of this year.

Today's has launched its Independent's Party campaign.

STL Technology Solutions is working with cash and carry operator Forward Wholesale to pilot a new scan-to-order solution for Forward's customers.

Booker has launched a new and extended range of Everyday Essentials intended to help caterers save money. It has been increased to 42 products with prices locked down until September 25.

Raj Krishan has been appointed to the newly created role of senior retail controller at Landmark Wholesale.

Today's Group member MJ Baker Foodservice has celebrated 10 years of trading with record sales in 2008.

Parting is such sweet sorrow according to the Bard of Avon. But at least I can exit the wholesaling stage on a happy note as I head for that state of dignified obsolescence generally known as retirement.

Northern Ireland's biggest wholesaler Henderson Group achieved a 10.7% increase in operating profits in 2008, compared against the previous year and increased turnover by 11.8%.

Unilever's Partners for Growth programme is continuing to build support from independent retailers five years after its formation.

Major wholesalers focused on supporting their independent customers have taken their involvement in the FWD My Shop is Your Shop centrepiece of National Independents' Week (NIW) to record levels. The big celebration begins on June 1st.

National Cuppa Day was launched by MSYS in 2008 as a marketing platform on which independent retailers can express their localness and involvement in the community. This year it will be on Wednesday June 3rd.

Appleby Westward Group has appointed a new managing director.

David Sabin Nisa Today's, Scunthorpe

Tangerine Confectionery has appointed Dick Brittle as a non-executive director.

United Biscuits UK has announced the promotion of Paul Graham to UK sales director.

Convert2Green, a bio-energy company, has appointed Barry Grundy as its UK operations manager.

Barry Jackson, senior national account manager at Carbury, was the individual winner of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors annual golf day.

William Reed Business Media is launching the Off Licence Show.

Sweet Charity raised more than £160,000 at its annual Candy Ball, which was attended by over 700 guests.

Sugro will be holding its Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition in Cardiff on May 15-16.

RANT. Let's open this month with another rant. It's to do with our local symbol store which our family and all of our neighbours want to support so much that it hurts.

Independent retailers purchasing behaviours differ by different days of the week. During these challenging times every customer matters and every customer visit counts so we must ensure we maximise every sales opportunity which exists.

Ownership of goods usually transfers to the buyer on delivery. However, under a simple retention of title (ROT) clause, ownership stays with the supplier until payment is made, and under some clauses it only passes when any other money owing is also paid.

The big breakthrough proving that the principles of the MSYS campaign will increase independent retailer sales came in 2008 when Landmark Wholesale tracked transactions through 15,000 stores served by group wholesalers.

Earlier this year, the teams from Pernod Ricard and the Take Home Blueprint worked together on a complete remerchandise of the wine section at Batleys cash and carry depot in West Bromwich (ProWholesler, March 2009, p22). So how successful has it all been?

Parfetts Cash & Carry customer, Lanigans Store in Walton Vale, Aintree is way ahead in the race for bigger licensed sales thanks to the FWD Take Home Blueprint.

== Guiding customers around competition ==

Changes to Makro's strategy in the UK were outlined by food buying director Allard Sjollema, and he dismissed rumours that it planed to exit the UK or was struggling.

Consumers are visiting small stores more often as a result of the recession, according to David Glennon, retail services manager UK, Nielsen.

A stinging attack on the way supermarkets abuse their buying power, and the government's failure to control them, was delivered by Duncan Swift, head of the food and agribusiness recovery group at Grant Thornton UK.

Sugro UK managing director Philip Jenkins called on everyone involved in the industry to actively oppose moves by the Government that, he said, would affect the future viability of the trade.

As assessment of the wider economic climate and the challenges facing the wholesale sector was delivered by Andrew Thewlis, finance director of Landmark Wholesale.

Londis retailer Raj Aggarwal joined My Shop is Your Shop founder Alan Toft in a presentation focusing on the forthcoming National Independents' Week.

Today's recently appointed managing director Bill Laird outlined his background in food retail and said his experience had lead him to be an advocate of technology. He said technology could be used to improve the performance of retail businesses but that many independents were not exploiting these opportunities.

John Heynen, sales director, Molson Coors, called for the sector to unite to help independent retailers understand their USP (unique selling point) and illustrated his presentation with two initiatives undertaken by his company.

Many consumers are being forced to buy their tea from the major multiples because of the lack of choice in convenience, according to Alistair Kieran, business sector controller of Tetley GB.

Formalising a sales contact strategy that clearly defines customers into channels and challenges us to recognise that customers behave differently - and thus we need to adapt our approach and keep the customer central to our thought process - is a relatively well trodden path. But what should we do if our customer is part of an extended value chain that takes our products based on their quality and service proposition and then transforms them into goods for sale through a third party?

Mövenpick Ice Cream is running a seasonal freezer promotion offering its customers Mövenpick Ice Cream freezers at a special offer price and a free support packages.

Macphie, an independent food ingredients manufacturer, has launched a new addition to its range of fruit coulis.

The Authentic Food Company has introduced two new snacks to its European range.

Nestlé Professional is offering its customers the chance to win a Coffee Zone.

AAK has announced that it is the first European company to supply sustainably produced palm oil into the UK.

Consumers are increasingly opting for supermarket 'meal deals', which typically offer a meal for two for £10 or under, rather than eating out in a restaurant, according to new QuickBite research from market analyst Horizons.

The 2009 Britvic Soft Drinks Report says, UK sales of soft drinks in 2008 defied the recession and another poor summer.

The petcare market is a vital one for many wholesalers' customers. Research by him! shows that on average petfood shoppers visit c-stores more often than non petfood shoppers and spend more on each visit. In addition it appears to be fairly recession proof with owners unwilling to compromise on what they feed their pets, and there is a trend towards premiumisation and giving pets more treats, which can produce higher margins for retailers.

We British love our bread. Indeed to borrow and rework a line from a certain brand's commercial - it's as popular today as it's always been. The Atkins and other no- or low-carb diets came and went but bread is still here in many shapes and sizes.

Nestlé Confectionery is launching Rowntree's Randoms into the confectionery category.

McCain has launched Summer Wedges with a hint of Shallot & Lime into its Seasonal Editions range.

General Mills has launched Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix.

Mars is encouraging Britain to get playing with a 'Mars Bounce into a Summer of British Sport' campaign.

Premier Foods is adding to its Sharwood's Chinese and Indian sauces ranges.

The Wrigley Company is launching its 5 gum in the UK.

GlaxoSmithKline has launched the Have a Field Day promotion for Ribena.

JTI has launched a range of five limited edition designs for Silk Cut.

PepsiCo is offering the chance to win a trip to Las Vegas everyday during the month of May with Doritos.

United Biscuits UK has introduced Mini Croissants from the McVitie's Cake Company.

Molson Coors is launching a new 99 calorie Carling bottle and plans to advertise for the first time in female-targeted media in a bid to promote beer as a lower calorie choice for women.

Australian wine brand Wolf Blass has announced a partnership with Five TV for its coverage of cricket in 2009, including the nPower Ashes series and the West Indies tour of England.

Carlsberg UK is launching new packaging designs for both its Carlsberg Export and Carlsberg brands.

WKD is branching out into the cider market with the launch of 4.5% ABV WKD Core.

ICB has launched Zamaretto, a range of eight flavoured amaretto liqueurs.

== monday ==

DBC Foodservice has been bought by three directors of the Iceland retail group.