The FWD has vowed to keep up pressure on the Competition Commission after it reported wholesalers were being forced to pay far more for products than the big four supermarkets, but failed to propose any action to address this abuse of the supermarket's dominant position.

Booker has continued its recovery with pre-tax profits and sales both up for the first time in several years.

Bestway has launched a specialist publication aimed at its catering customers. The magazine, titled Essentially Catering, has introduced its first edition in time for the Christmas buying season.

Makro has invested £20m in extensive refits of its depots in Birmingham and Glasgow, as part of the programme of revamping its entire network.

Research consultancy Him is planning a Delivered Wholesale Tracking Programme to complement its C&C Tracking Programmes covering independent retailers and caterers.

AF Blakemore & Son and Heart of England Fine Foods (HEFF) have set up Heart Distribution to deliver food and drink from HEFF members.

The Nestlé Rowntree Manager of the Month for November is awarded to Dave McLaren of Batleys Cash & Carry in Cleveland.

Booker has extended the opening hours across its network of 172 cash and carry branches. Now all branches will be open from 7.30am on weekdays and will have extended hours at the weekend.

Gallaher has teamed up with ProWholesaler to offer one cash and carry depot the opportunity to win a visit from its Visible Vault.

A new publication, "The Food Industry Guide to Good Hygiene Practice: Wholesale Distributors", which provides advice to food wholesalers on how to comply with Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs, has been published by The Stationery Office.

Hancocks Cash & Carry has launched a pick and mix stand for premium chocolates.

The good news for wholesalers is that our industry is in great shape and can look to its future with confidence. Most everything else in the total grocery market is hunky dory as well, with consumers in particular getting a really good deal. There are one or two things that could be improved, however, such as making it easier for the big players to increase the population of medium/large supermarkets, and by beefing up the Supermarket Code of Practice so that it actually works after seven years of ineffective existence.

At 270 pages for the report of its provisional findings, plus several hundred additional pages of appendices, you could expect the Competition Commission had covered every possible angle, but there is one glaring omission.

Parfetts Cash & Carry, a member of Landmark Wholesale, has appointed Chris Walker as operations manager for its Stockport depot.

Spar UK has appointed Kam Nijhar as marketing manager.

Landmark Wholesale has announced a major restructure of its trading department due, it said, to an increasing volume of business.

Palmer & Harvey McLane's EPOS arm, YP Electronics, has recruited Steve Harper as its managing director to replace former MD Ian Harris

? Job title: group negotiator

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Prizes with a total value of £70,000 were presented at the Bestway Retailer Development Awards last month.

Robert Nichol of Aghadowey Food Services won Country Range Employee of the Year at the Country Range Group Event 2007.

Brakes provided the facilities and support staff for FareShare, the Community Food Network Charity, to hold an Eat Well training and education day.

Spar is returning to the Convenience Retailing Show in 2008.

AFTERMATH. Be careful about what you ask for... the answer may surprise you. The warning from the OFT on the outcome of the Competition Commission "inquiry" into the grocery market has come true.

I can't match the big four advertising spend so why should I try?

Kiran Basra, owner of Bierley Superstore in Bierley, West Yorkshire, has seen a 20% increase in his beer sales since bringing in the FWD Take Home Blueprint team for advice on the merchandising and ranging of his alcohol section.

Jo Srijothy achieved a double boost from the FWD Take Home Blueprint team. Following the initial success he achieved with their help on his first shop, he has repeated the exercise at a second store he owns. Sales in his alcohol category are now up 20% in both stores thanks to the Blueprint.

Anyone involved in the foodservice sector will tell you it is constantly changing as it adapts to a host of issues such as fast moving consumer trends and new legislation, and Brakes is a prime example.

Some of the changes that have helped to turn around Booker's business were outlined by Ron Hickey, director of catering development.

Suppliers are not meeting expectations, a leading caterer told the conference. Chris Towler is chef director of ISS Eaton, a multinational workplace catering company turning over £621m in the UK and employing 40,000 people.

Peter Backman, managing director of Horizons FS, offered some insights into the foodservice sector.

Landmark Wholesale's foodservice controller Peter Saunders updated delegates on the group's progress since it began focusing on its foodservice opportunity two years ago, and said the group would introduce central pricing.

Chris Beckingham, foodservice trading controller of The Today's Group, said "one size very definitely does not fit all" when it comes to the foodservice market.

Wholesalers and suppliers are beginning to benefit from working together, but they need to get much better at it, according to Kenny Jacobs, customer manager, Makro Cash & Carry.

All types of caterers are becoming far more sophisticated at serving a wider range of customers, according to Andy Kemp, sales director of 3663.

The reasons for the increasing use of guideline daily amounts labelling were outlined by Jane Holdsworth.

Although Sugro is seen principally as a wholesale group supplying retailers, it also delivers to many catering and hospitality businesses, said managing director Philip Jenkins.

Sales over the past three years averaged 5-6% growth, until a significant decrease since Easter this year as consumer confidence declined and the wet summer dented seasonal sales, said Roger Suddaby, foodservice sales manager of Nielsen.

Sales to the foodservice and hospitality sector via UK cash and carries are worth £2.2bn and account for 16% of the total foodservice supply route, according to Garth Morris, general merchandising manager - food and sundries of Costco Wholesale UK.

The eating-out-of-home market has grown substantially over the last 10 years and foodservice operators - both chains and independent outlets - have enjoyed a period of high consumer "affluence" (if you can call over-borrowing on the cheap affluence). But the first things to be cut when finances get tight are discretionary spending such as eating and drinking away from home, and holidays.

The Authentic Food Company has developed a range of snacks to enable chefs to offer something different and widen the menu.

AAK Foodservice has launched Less Cal, a low fat oil spray.

Paterson Arran has re-launched its Giant Cookies range under its Brontë brand and added four new cookie varieties.

Unilever Foodsolutions has launched a new 'Best of British' promotion, with its Colman's brand.

Schöller Ice Cream has launched a bar side cocktail menu featuring Mövenpick All Natural ice cream with fruit-based liqueurs, syrups and alcohol.

With the growth in cider showing no sign of slowing down, and wine and beer continuing to sell strongly, all these categories are vital for the wholesale sector, particularly in the run-up to Christmas.

The top 10 is fairly consistent with last year's rankings, as you would expect from a mature category. Only Miller (despite being 26% down) has climbed into the top 10 at the expense of Skol, which relates to significant decline of low strength lagers across the total market.

Easter looms on the horizon after Christmas, and with this year being the earliest Easter can be, it may catch retailers and consumers unawares, while Valentine's Day and Mother's Day may trip them up as well.

Cadbury Trebor Bassett has launched a 29p on-pack price promotion.

Energizer has introduced a new look and positioning for its range.

Gallaher has launched gold fever, a promotion for Benson & Hedges Gold. It offers retailers the chance to win one of five Gold Bars, each worth £10,000, by finding a Golden Ticket in an outer of Benson & Hedges Gold 20s.

Shloer, the soft drinks brand, is urging retailers to think about stocking up on 'must have' items now to avoid consumer disappointment and loss of sales caused by out of stocks over Christmas.

Zig-Zag has launched a new marketing campaign with a total spend of £1.75m.

A new logo and packaging have been introduced across the Harveys range by Beam Global UK.

Chang Beer, Thailand's number one beer brand, has been launched in the UK as part of a global roll-out for the brand. It is being imported from Thailand by Chang UK - a newly created company within the InterBev Group.

A new product positioning, in-store activity and new product development are planned by Halewood International for the Lamb's Navy Rum brand.

Johnnie Walker Black Label has launched a marketing and promotional drive targeting Indian consumers.

This is a great deal for independents, providing a fair profit margin all round, but we still expect own brand spirits to capture a substantial chunk of seasonal trade. The spirits category is up over 5% this year and with many more retailers adopting the FWD Blueprint for Spirits we know we can enjoy an increased share of this extra trade.

Coca-Cola promises big marketing spends on the soon to be launched Fanta Still, and new flavours for its Relentless and Powerade brands. A £4m marketing budget for the new Suso brand will help get product onto and off the shelves quickly in the New Year. The possibility of a re-sealable can also excites - not just for carbonates but for beer too. And what does Britvic have tucked up its sleeves at this precise moment?

At least Halloween produced some good sales, particularly in non foods, snacks and confectionery A couple of our retailers reckon that the popularity of trick and treating has grown over last year but that fireworks sales are down as more people opt to go to organised events. At least we picked up some extra business from local mobile caterers.

We are eager to offer our customers the widest possible choice. Who is threatening the supplier I would like to know? Isn't it more a case that big companies are only interested in achieving brand leadership by dominating product categories - usually at any price. We all want demand-driven growth rather than sales-driven growth. Securing brand leadership costs but, as companies like Unilever know, the rewards are manifold.

We are not making much progress with multi-packs and I wonder if the brand owner would consider producing something really special and exclusive for our channel to help us expand distribution.