A price comparison site to help indies get the best prices on branded lines is set to launch next month.
Comparethewholesaler.com, which aims to be up and running by mid-August, will compare the price of branded products at leading cash & carries. retailers will be able to register on the site for free and prices will be updated daily.
“Retailers in this tough financial climate need more choice in their supply chain choices,” a Comparethewholesaler.com spokesman said.
“Major wholesale groups make record profits, acquire smaller wholesalers, romp away with business, and yet our high street continues to decline. This can’t be right. Something needs to be done to re-balance the share of profit. It’s clearly vital that retailers are able to access the best price in town for their supplies.”
The site would eventually feature prices from the top 100 UK wholesalers and cash & carries, he said, although it “might take time to get to that number”.
Prices were currently being collated by independent retailers, but in the longer term would hopefully come directly from the wholesalers themselves, said the spokesman. The site has already been contacted by some wholesalers.
It had been created by “a former independent retailer, for independent retailers”, said the spokesman, although he would not reveal their identity. Around £150,000 has been invested, and the site aims to generate revenue through advertising.
“Wholesalers and cash & carries deliver more goods to more places than ever before,” says the promotional leaflet. “This provides greater choice to the retailer. But trawling through leaflets, brochures and websites to see what these wholesalers and C&Cs sell their stock for is no easy task - Comparethewholesaler.com takes the pain out of this process.”
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