Booker's customers have mixed views on the idea of the C&C group merging with Iceland, according to a straw poll carried out this week by The Grocer. And suppliers tell us that the combined company will have no chance of achieving the trading benefits it has outlined to an increasingly sceptical investment community. Gary Rice, who runs the Happy Shopper, Ilfracombe, Devon, said: "I am a Booker shareholder and I don't like it at all. How can it be to our benefit when Iceland, like other multiples, are killing off so many independents? "There's talk of more buying muscle when the deal is finalised, but I can't see any advantage coming our way." Jay Patel, a Happy Shopper retailer in Enfield, Middlesex, said: "Like many small store proprietors I am just about surviving and the multiples are to blame. I depend totally on Booker and don't like the merger idea at all." However, Malcolm Adam-son, a retailer in Hull, said: "Booker has no competition in the area at present and its prices are sky high. We are big in frozen food, so we hope to benefit from the Iceland influence." A more positive view was taken by Desraj Nahar, who owns a store in Coventry. He said: "I am not against it. It's a strange mix, but I hope it works. They're both big people, so we must hope that there will be a benefit for us." And Mike Wilkinson, who runs a Happy Shopper in Blackpool, agreed: "Booker won't want to kill off the independent trade, so the extra buying muscle could help drive down prices. I've no argument with the merger if the retailer benefits." But suppliers tell us that it it is highly unlikely Iceland and Booker will be able to squeeze them for better prices as the combined company strives to achieve synergy savings of £50m. The md of one major processing company said: "This is a strange deal. I couldn't believe it when I heard it. I find it difficult to see how Rose and Walker will achieve the synergies they talked about last week." Another said: "Clearly they will be going through the price files of both businesses and will try to rationalise them. But we will not sell more to consumers just because this is a bigger business. So what's on offer? We need true synergies ­ such as putting all our stock through one combined distribution depot ­ before we will offer anything. "UK manufacturers have got quite used to handling these sorts of negotiations. We have found constructive ways of saying a firm No' to unreasonable demands." Rival C&C operators are also questioning the logic. The buying director of one group said: "While there are bound to be cost savings, I struggle to see the rationale of the deal. Manufacturers will come under the hammer, but Booker will not be able to de-liver a consumer price pledge any more than it can now." {{NEWS }}

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