Booker hits back at claims independents are being ‘slowly pushed aside’

Retailers said Booker had:

• Reduced the range of items available by up to 30% at some cash and carry branches.
• Withdrawn customer favourites at some sites. including Yorkshire Tea, Rowntree’s sweets and Colman’s mustard.
• Reduced the availability and reliability of deliveries.

One village store owner told The Guardian he could no longer get sought-after brands from his local depot, including TUC and Cheddars biscuits.

The alternatives provided are often under the Jack’s own-label, which carry the slogan “part of the Tesco family”.

It felt like Tesco was “slowly pushing us aside”, the retailer said.

He added that he was often unable to meet the minimum order level to get supplies delivered.

But in a statement this afternoon, Booker said it was “very proud to serve thousands of local retailers and everything we do is aimed to give better choice, price and service to our retailers so they can better serve their customers.”

It added: “Last year, we reviewed our range across all branded and own-brand products to ensure we have the right offer and in response to feedback that customers want more consistency across branches.

“As part of that review, we removed products that customers weren’t choosing to make more space for products that really matter.

“Overall feedback has been positive and we’ve already seen improvements in availability. We will always listen to our customers and would welcome any feedback on improving the range we have.

“We have not reduced our delivery frequency and while we have always had a minimum spend on orders, we are very open to working with any retailer who might not be able to meet the minimum order requirements.

“By opening a new Distribution Centre in Fareham [Hampshire], we will be able to increase our delivery capacity over the coming years and we remain absolutely committed to serving community shops across the UK either through branch or delivery.”

It added that when the range review was carried out, it deliberately protected all local and regional lines, while the introduction of Jack’s had not come at the expense of branded products.

Any store that has previously been able to get a delivery should still be able to get one.

“We are looking into the concerns raised in the article to see if there’s anything further we can do to support these customers.”