Resilience took centre stage at the Scottish Wholesale Association’s (SWA’s) Connex Conference in Glasgow last Thursday (28 May), where attendees heard how Scotland’s convenience stores were outperforming the rest of the UK.
Tom Slaven, SWA president, set the tone by highlighting how the association had adapted to a changing environment – emphasising that the wider industry must continue to do the same.
SWA chief executive, Colin Smith, said: “Supply, Sustain, Support – that’s the framework we’ve put in front of every political party and stakeholder, translating those pillars into a clear ask: secure the supply chain, sustain a skilled and resilient sector, and support the conditions for growth.”
In a presentation titled Building Wholesale Resilience – The Path to 2050, Tanya Pepin, co-founder and managing director of The Wholesale Company, shared that convenience stores in Scotland – both independents and symbol groups – remained under pressure but were performing better than the rest of the UK. She claimed that consumers becoming more digitally enabled and that shifting consumer behaviour had seen shoppers were seeking new experiences and innovation, such as subscription food boxes and meal kits.
Her talk focused on how the consumer environment had fundamentally changed, with supply chain disruption and unstable geopolitical conditions including global conflicts and climate change.
One of her overarching messages was that “demand is not disappearing, it is fragmenting and evolving”. Wholesale, she said, was also under pressure from rising energy bills and labour costs including increased employers’ National Insurance payments and wage inflation, while regulatory pressures came in the form of, for example, HFSS, EPR/DRS, MUP, tobacco legislation, and sustainability requirements.
She stated that wholesalers were ideally placed to “become the discovery engine for the next generation of food and drink”.
In conversation with conference host, broadcaster Zara Janjua, Antony Begley, editor of Scottish Local Retailer, stood in for retailer Girish Jeeva, of Girish’s Costcutter in Barmulloch, Glasgow, to discuss how his recent shop refit had created a store that meets the changing demands of his customers and ensures he’s ready for the future.
Professor Colin Campbell, meanwhile, shone a spotlight on how climate change was the single greatest threat to supply chains and advised wholesalers to look for opportunities by assessing risks for key commodities.
A Building Wholesale Resilience panel discussion featured Jane Mackie, founder of Rora Dairy in Aberdeenshire, Jim Cummiskey, chief executive of Glasgow wholesaler Fáilte Group, Alice Graham, GB head of hospitality, wholesale and foodservice at Carlsberg Britvic, and David Cooke, chief operating officer at buying group Unitas Wholesale. They discussed whether the sector could develop an incubator model across Scottish wholesale to support emerging categories, brands and local products. The aim would be to strengthen and futureproof the wholesale channel while bringing the entire supply chain together – boosting Scotland’s food security and unlocking the climate opportunities highlighted by Professor Campbell in his presentation.
Delegates were asked to identify the sector’s greatest opportunity – ultimately concluding that generational shifts in consumer needs represent the channel’s most significant opportunity for the future.
Throughout the day, a Vendor Village exhibition featured producers, suppliers, and SWA service provider members. There were also compliance clinics on the UK deposit return scheme (DRS), packaging extended producer responsibility (EPR), employment rights, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) to offer hands-on support, expert advice, and facilitate new partnerships.
