The Grocer – 24 August 2019

news wholesale & convenience

Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk 24 August 2019 | The Grocer | 7

Bidfood to repeat 29

March stockpile levels

Bidfood has bought storage space specifically for Brexit

Lyndsey Cambridge

Foodservice giant

Bidfood is again ramp-

ing up its no-deal Brexit

planning and looks set to

repeat the levels of stock-

piling it reached ahead

of the original 29 March

exit date.

Bidfood CEO Andrew

Selley told The Grocer he

was “meticulously plan-

ning” to minimise the

impact of possible food

shortages in the event

that the UK leaves with-

out a deal on 31 October.

The move comes

despite telling delegates

at the FWD conference

in June he was “once bit-

ten twice shy” and that

he was wary of building

up stocks that Bidfood

would have to try and sell

after Christmas.

The wholesaler has

been working with sup-

pliers and logistics pro-

viders to ensure it has a

“sensible level” of long-

life and ambient contin-

gency stock.

Stocks of key products

identified as most at risk

• which include pasta,
  tuna, tinned tomatoes,
  olive oil, chips and rice –
  will be stored throughout

its 28 depots, as well as

the additional space pur-

chased specifically for

Brexit stockpiling.

The wholesaler has cal-

culated the risk on the

basis of the product’s

country of origin and the

hike in duty to which it is

likely to be subjected.

Selley said the sup-

ply chain team had

considered the risk of dis-

ruption, level of demand,

ease of substitution and

impact of any known tar-

iffs, as well as the needs

of customers serving

schools and hospitals.

Contingency plan-

ning for fresh and chilled

produce relied heavily

on European suppliers

understanding ship-

ping procedures post-

October, he said.

The wholesale giant

said its first round of

stockpiling in the run-

up to 29 March caused

a cashflow issue but did

not affect profit as the

long-life products were

eventually sold through.

However, an undis-

closed amount has been

written off as a “sunk

cost” on additional stor-

age space.

Blakemore’s new site is a

164,000 sq ft warehouse

AF Blakemore has signed
a pre-let agreement on a
new multi-temperature
warehouse in Bedford.
It has secured a 20-year
lease for the 164,000 sq ft
depot on Manton Lane.
The company will
occupy the new distri-
bution depot in 2021,
subject to planning
permission.
The site will comple-
ment its existing ware-
house network, and
will provide it with
extra supply chain
capacity to support tar-
geted growth across its
retail, wholesale and

AF Blakemore secures multi-

temp warehouse in Bedford

foodservice divisions.

Geoff Hallam, joint

MD, said it was an excit-

ing development that

reflected confidence in

the company’s ability to

grow in its markets.

“The move will

strengthen our

reputation as a national

food distributor and

enable us to continue to

improve our service.”

Blakemore had “a firm

commitment” to respon-

sible business practice

and “positive engage-

ment” with staff, cus-

tomers, the environment

and the local community

which would be a clear

focus for the business as

it looked to establish the

new site.

The business operates

distribution centres in

the West Midlands, West

Yorkshire, East Sussex

and South Wales.

Henderson’s Newsagents,

a chain of six shops in

the Home Counties that

has traded for more than

60 years, has collapsed

into administration.

Three of the shops are

in Luton, Bedfordshire.

The others are in Hitchin,

Hertfordshire; Haverhill,

Suffolk; and Newmarket,

Suffolk – where it trades

as Tindalls News &

Books.

Two of the Luton

branches, on Hitchin

Road and Wigmore Lane

in Stopsley, include post

offices.

“Like many retailers in

Henderson’s enters

into administration

the current economic cli-

mate, Henderson’s had

seen a drop in turnover

coupled with increasing

overheads in the months

leading up to administra-

tion,” joint administrator

Michael Pallott told The

Grocer.

Pallott confirmed all

six branches had been

closed and the num-

ber of job losses would

be finalised once the

joint administrators

had concluded any sale

of the branches. One

local newspaper report

claimed about 60 staff

had lost their jobs.

Gourmet sweet retailer
SugarSin has revealed
plans to launch a second
London store and open
overseas franchises.
Former accountant
Jiten Shah bought the
business in June, includ-
ing the Covent Garden
shop, for £475,000. He
plans to open a second
store, in Westfield White
City, by 2021.
Shah also plans to
open franchises in three
major international cities
by 2023.
SugarSin has begun
negotiations with poten-
tial distribution partners
in the US, Europe, Middle
East and Asia. It is also
reviewing locations
in the US, Middle East
and Far East for its new
franchises.
Plans are in place to
grow the business’ rev-
enue by at least 20% to
£1.4m in the next year.

SugarSin in

push to open

London and

global stores

RAPID RESPONDERS

I am confident that whatever happens we will be

continuing to serve our customers – Andrew Selley,

CEO, Bidfood