Parfetts Cash & Carry is planning a major expansion of its retail business, developing it into a small chain within the next 12 months.

Sterling Supergroup has confirmed that it will adopt a new management structure when chief executive Anne Tomlinson retires at the end of the year, after more than 40 years with the buying group.

Bidvest Foodservice Group, owner of 3663, has sold its e-commerce company Makella to American e-commerce provider Amphire Solutions.

Booker has lowered the prices on a new group of products as part of its Price Roll Back campaign.

CJ Lang & Son, the Spar wholesaler for Scotland, has announced a £5m investment in a new Dundee distribution depot.

Growing environmental concerns among retailers was one of the findings of a survey of retailers' views as they shopped at cash and carries.

Brakes is highlighting its environmental and corporate social responsibility to customers in a new brochure and web-based CSR area.

Woodward Foodservice has lost one of its most prestigious distribution contracts to its rival 3663.

A bank has accused rivals of charging wholesalers excessive amounts for money transfers, and is looking to attract new business with a £5 per transaction fee.

Brakes has developed a range of non-food products aiming to help caterers with ways to entertain children, and with cleanliness and convenience in the kitchen.

David Sands, the Scottish independent convenience store chain, has launched a new chilled distribution division to service its 23 stores across Fife, Kinross and Perthshire.

The Nestlé Rowntree Manager of the Month for August is awarded to Rohit Jain, depot manager, Bestway Cash & Carry Leeds.

3663 has donated one of its end-of-term trucks to the relief work organisation, Reform Corporation.

Duracell is joining forces with iTunes to offer consumers an on-pack promotion as part of the battery company's 'Summer of Music'.

MBL has reached a milestone in the re-branding of its two retail symbol groups, Londis and Budgens, after opening pilot stores for each brand.

== September ==

The best performing cash and carry companies, as judged by their retailer customers, were announced at the HIM Cash & Carry Retailer Awards.

This year's Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD) annual Catersummit, held at the new venue of the Oxford Belfry, will see a range of speaks offering information and advice.

The Bestway symbol group, Best-One, went ahead with its annual golf day at the Belfry golf course, in spite of heavy rain. Independent retailers, suppliers and Best-One staff attended the day, and the winning team was the Cobra Beer team. From left: Hoshang Noria and Ben Palmer from Cobra, Younus Sheikh, managing director of Bestway Cash and Carry, Chris Rendell, Cobra, with Jay Patel (Best-one store Wingham, Kent) and Best-one controller James Hall.

MOMENTOUS. This is the critical moment in time when the future of everyone engaged in the cash and carry and delivered industry is in the hands of the chairman of the Competition Commission, lawyer Peter Freeman.

Sales channel specialist Jenks has invested £350,000 in an IT solution based on Microsoft Dynamics GP and associated technologies. Trinity Computer Services will supply software and services required to implement the new solution.

Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies has extended its Dor-O-Matic Swing Range with the launch of a fully automatic Flexible Door.

TIP Trailer Service has announced it is investing in excess of £8m on the acquisition of 375 new trailers.

Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks has upgraded the productivity of its 24-volt three-wheel, FBKRT electric counterbalance series.

Reviews of the successful implementation of National Independents' Week in June suggested that the widespread involvement of suppliers, wholesalers and retailers required a rapid follow-up to maintain the momentum. October Is MSYS School Month is the result.

Oliver Hutchinson, owner of Boscawell Stores, in Pendeen, Cornwall, has never looked back since getting advice from the FWD Take Home Blueprint team.

Nestlé FoodServices has won the contract to exclusively supply catering outlets within one of the UK's biggest entertainment complexes. As one of the founding partners for the O2 arena, Nestlé FoodServices has the exclusive rights for all of its branded hot beverage, food, confectionery, ice cream and water sales inside the main public arena, including Nescafé, KitKat, Mövenpick, Herta and Buxton Water.

Unilever Foodsolutions has re-formulated and re-launched its range of Knorr Italian Tomato Sauces.

Schöller Ice Cream has launched the Fischer Vesuvio Ice Cream Experience, a trio of fruit-based individual portion desserts.

Southover Food Company has launched its Cooked Smoked Back Bacon.

Heinz has launched HP Steak Sauce into the foodservice market, prior to its launch in retail.

Whitby Seafoods has launched two new fish cakes, Thai and Cod & Pancetta.

Health and well-being are the key drivers in the soft drinks market at the moment and the experts reckon they are likely to remain so for some time. Of course, you can't get a much healthier drink than water. According to Britvic's soft drinks report, the bottled water market was worth £643m in the take-home channel last year, up 11% on 2005. In the on-trade, it was the fastest growing category, up 28% in value to reach £75m. But despite excellent growth in both sectors, there is still a colossal sales opportunity as UK consumption of bottled water lags way behind other countries.

In a world of healthy options and better for you products, consumers are still taking the opportunity to indulge in 'treat' products. Biscuits and cakes are ideal for this, as well as fitting into the sharing element of treating.

With 99% of consumers purchasing confectionery, it remains a very significant category to most independent retailers, even though it has seen some decline.

Buxton Natural Mineral Water has a Go Free on-pack promotion offering sports related prizes.

Coca-Cola Enterprises has launched an on-pack promotion giving consumers the chance to win millions of 2 for 1 savings on tickets to indoor and outdoor attractions with Sprite, Dr Pepper and Lilt.

Monty Panesar is spearheading the introduction of Walkers Chilli & Lemon flavour crisps.

Dolmio has launched 'Best Ever' Bolognese sauces with a £4m support package.

Unilever UK has extended its Dove Summer Glow range to include a self tan face variant.

Fullback (Imports) Ltd has launched Zagorka, Bulgaria's biggest selling beer with more than 30% of the market, into the UK. It is available in 500ml NRB and 500ml cans.

Merrydown is supporting cash and carries this summer with the introduction of promotional price-marked bottles and specially printed posters and pallet wraps.

Coral.co.uk and Carlsberg UK have agreed a deal to offer consumers a free £25 bet when they purchase selected packs of Carlsberg and Tetley's.

Beam Global UK has just launched an added value gift pack for bottles of its Sauza Blanco tequila. The promotion comprises a neck collar which holds two shot glasses.

InterContinental Brands like to be first. So they are pleased to be running the first TV advertising campaign in the UK for a premium pear cider. Consumers in Northern Ireland and Scotland were the first to be targeted with the new St Helier TV ad, which aired between prime time programmes like Coronation Street and The Bill on UTV, Channel 4 Northern Ireland and Scottish TV from late July to early August. The campaign will roll out across the rest of the UK from late Autumn.

Good to know someone's cheerful. This time last year we were in the middle of a heat wave and praying for some cool breezes

With the sourcing of so many 'British' products moving overseas it's about time we got the Red Tractor back on the road again

Most multiples feature Whiskas and Felix multi-pack sachets at 'every day low prices' so exclusive price-marked promotional deals for our sector would be the ideal way forward.

The creation of their 'This Water' brand has been challenged by some trade journalists but what do they know about anything? Innocent are leading the way in producing great tasting natural drinks and we'll be backing them.

Our wine buyer is frustrated by the lack of opportunity to promote higher quality wines, but with a £4.41 average bottle price being achieved in our sector we might yet break away from the typical California 'three for a tenner' deals which are completely distorting our New World performance.