Welsh wholesaler BA Cash & Carry has boosted its sales 10% by moving into delivered wholesale.
So far the wholesaler has recruited 300 regular customers to its BA Direct Wholesale service, which was launched last March with four trucks operating from its depots in Cardiff and Swansea to provide a top-up delivery service for retailers and pubs.
Trading director Zahier Ahmed said the service, which delivers weekly, had helped grow sales 10% in the three months before Christmas.
“We are really pleased with how the business is going,” he added. “A lot of our retailers have less time to spend coming to C&Cs, so we set up a core delivered range and it’s doing well.
“A lot of the retailers are already part of a symbol group and our next day service provides a stop-gap top-up service for them.”
The venture had helped to bring in new customers, especially pubs and restaurants, he added. And because it took payment by cash on delivery it helped the business’s cashflow.
BA Direct Wholesale had cost about £100,000 to set up. But it had required investment in new IT, staff and leased trucks, which had contributed to a 67% slump in pre-tax profit to £140,264 in the year ending February 2008, added Ahmed.
So far the wholesaler has recruited 300 regular customers to its BA Direct Wholesale service, which was launched last March with four trucks operating from its depots in Cardiff and Swansea to provide a top-up delivery service for retailers and pubs.
Trading director Zahier Ahmed said the service, which delivers weekly, had helped grow sales 10% in the three months before Christmas.
“We are really pleased with how the business is going,” he added. “A lot of our retailers have less time to spend coming to C&Cs, so we set up a core delivered range and it’s doing well.
“A lot of the retailers are already part of a symbol group and our next day service provides a stop-gap top-up service for them.”
The venture had helped to bring in new customers, especially pubs and restaurants, he added. And because it took payment by cash on delivery it helped the business’s cashflow.
BA Direct Wholesale had cost about £100,000 to set up. But it had required investment in new IT, staff and leased trucks, which had contributed to a 67% slump in pre-tax profit to £140,264 in the year ending February 2008, added Ahmed.
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