02 April 2007, 15:09 PM

  • If they want to get ahead of the multiples, retailers need to maximise their floor space for sales and use wholesalers for storage, says Booker chief executive, Charles Wilson.

Speaking at the Federation of Wholesale Distributors annual conference, Mr Wilson said the multiples lead the way in using all of their floor space for sales and keeping back stock to a minimum. He said independents should rely more on their wholesalers to top up their supplies and keep the best selling products available at all times to meet the changing behaviour of customers.

He commented, “Independents need to cut down the amount of storage they have and they can do that by getting top ups from their wholesaler which means retailers do not have to take the stock risk. There is too much duplication and there are too many products that do not offer real choice.”

He added, “Making sure independents are not offering the same thing as multiples is key.”