News Archive 2007

Lelac Champagne, the Bestway and Batley cash and carry own label house champagne has won a 3 star rating from the top wine lovers magazine, Decanter. The rating appears in the January issue of the magazine and in addition to the top level rating, the wine was given a ‘Wow' and ‘Quality' recommendation by the tasting panel who awarded it the top marks.

Lelac is an elegant blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir. Pale yellow in colour with intense notes of pears, apples and citrus fruits. It combines richness and balance on the palate with a long and lingering finish.

The brand is also available in a rose champagne variety, introduced earlier this year, it is now in stock in all Bestway and Batley cash and carry branches at a special promotion price.

The two Champagnes are priced at

Lelac Brut 1 case of 6 bottles @ £56.99 with a RRP of £14.99 per bottle giving 25.5 % POR

Lelac Rose 1 case of 6 bottles @ £66,99 with a RRP of £17.59 per bottles 25.4 % POR

Both prices are plus VAT.

21/12/07

The Federation of Wholesalers annual Gold Awards, held at London's Café Royal this week, named Mohammed Jamil, the business development manager of Bestway's

Best-in retailers club, as the recipient of the Wholesaler Service to Retailers Gold Medal.

The Best-in club is designed to encourage retailers to shop at Bestway cash and carry depots and gain the benefits of club membership, and Mr Jamil has greatly developed this market over recent years to see increased growth and bring in new retailers who have enjoyed the extras of club membership.

The Best-in club is a further example of Bestway's strategy of building business for the independents.

12/12/07

Bestway cash and carry group held the annual Bestway Performance Awards ceremony this week to recognise the contribution both its staff and suppliers have made this year to both Bestway and Batleys, the second largest cash and carry group in the UK. The awards were held in the Raphael Gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum, one of London's most impressive settings.

The awards are held annually and are open to all of the 4500 staff across the group.

There are 13 awards made to staff and 2 awards to suppliers in 15 different categories, recognising outstanding performance and achievement across all areas of the business. This year there are 3 new awards to include catering sales, recognising the importance this sector plays in the business.

22/11/07

Bestway Cash and Carry Group delivered the Barnardo's charity a cheque for £60,000 this week as a donation from the Group's annual charity racing day, held at Royal Ascot.

Bestway chooses a new charity to benefit each year.  Barnardo's chief executive, Martin Narey, in receiving the cheque from Bestway chairman, Sir Anwar Pervez, said. "This sum will be of considerable help to us in a new project we are about to undertake in London's Tower Hamlets, where we are planning a day centre to help train young people in a trade and help start them on the road to a future with a skill to develop an independent life."

Sir Anwar Pervez said at the presentation, "We are delighted to be able to help such a worthy charity as Barnardo's.  Together with all our suppliers who join us at Royal Ascot, we are proud to be in a position to make a difference to the lives of less fortunate people, especially younger people, who after all, are the generation of tomorrow."

16/11/07

Bestway the second largest cash and carry group in the UK has launched a specialist publication aimed at its catering customers. The magazine, titled Essentially Catering has introduced its first edition in time for the Christmas buying spree.

01/11/07

One of the industry's top award schemes - the Bestway Retailer Development Awards - has made 17 awards and given away £70,000 in total prize value  - (£35,000 in cash and £35,000 worth of free stock and other benefits) to independent retailers across England, Scotland and Wales when over 400 attended a glittering event at London's Grosvenor House. (17^th October)

The winning independent retailers are judged on a measured series of store improvements set against the following criteria; the range of goods stocked, the POS (point of sale) materials used, sales increases, pricing policy, store layout and space in the store, equipment used and the success of new lines. The key criteria are if the store has a professional look to it and is well managed.

The top award and title of National Retailer of the Year goes to the person who has shown the most outstanding all round performance. This year that winner is:

Bestway Cash and Carry group has introduced a new pink version to its house champagne brand Lelac. The champagne is now available in both Brut and Rose versions.

It is produced for the Bestway group by a highly talented, small and young team of producers based in the Marne Valley of the Champagne region of France. The wine is made with rigour and great care and a sharp eye on quality, typicity and character. It is available now in all Bestway and Batleys Cash and Carry depots.

09/10/07

Bestway Cash and Carry Group has announced that October 7^th marks the opening of its first ever Batleys cash and carry depot in the South East of England.

It brings the total depots in the group to 51.   The new 90,000 sq. ft. (8,364 sq. m.) wholesale warehouse, built at a cost of £10m, (land and building) is located at Courteney Road, Gillingham, Kent on a site that was previously occupied by a Co-op distribution centre.

The depot was officially opened by Sir Anwar Pervez, chairman and founder of the Bestway Group.

05/10/07

Zameer Choudrey, Group CEO announced today that Bestway Cement Limited has been granted a licence by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) which will enable us to export cement to India. Bestway is one of the few foreign cement manufacturers who have been granted this licence.

This opens up new markets for Bestway and gives us an opportunity to supply cement to one of the world's largest economies.

Given the unprecedented demand of cement in India, we have been approached by numerous importers. Sales and marketing arrangements are currently under way and if anyone is interested, please feel free to contact us via email habiba.ansari@bestway.co.uk, phone +44 20 8453 8221 or fax +44 20 8453 8219.

02/10/07

Countless Best-in offers go on sale in all 50 Bestway and Batleys depots from 28^th September until stocks last. Nearly 50 products ranging from a brand new paper range to favourites like custard and bourbon cream biscuits make up this huge extra fill Best -for -less feature.

27/09/07

The Bestway group, including Batleys has announced its commitment to the Blueprint scheme for retailers.

25/09/07 

Mr Roopinder Toor (right) Bestway's Licensed Trade Controller, collects the certificate of honour for the company's own label Rossini Bianco which won a Gold Medal in the Champion Fortified wine section at the International Wine Challenge Awards,(IWC) held at the Grosvenor House.
This wine was recognised by a host of eminent international wine judges for its quality and price and is available at all Bestway and Batleys cash and carry depots.

 13/09/07

Bestway has won HIM!'s 'Best own label operator' award. The award is based on the feedback and ratings of 3,660 independent retailers who were questioned while shopping at cash & carries throughout the UK as part of HIM!'s Cash & Carry Retailer Tracking Programme.

25/07/07

Happy news for the parents of Cellar Estates.  Just a year after the birth of this highly successful own label wine brand at Bestway, a new baby bottle has arrived to join the other 80 wines in the portfolio. A series of 25cl bottles is launching 6th July, of some of the most popular wines;
Cellar Estates Vin de table - red and white
Cellar Estates Californian white
Cellar Estates Californian Ruby Cabernet
Cellar Estates Australian Chardonnay
The range is costed at a wholesale price of £6.29 per case of 6. With a retail price of £1.69 per bottle, which gives 27.1% POR

05/07/07

BESTWAY cash and carry group held its eleventh charity racing day at Royal Ascot this year and made it a special event for all its 800 guests and for this year's chosen charity, Barnardo's.

The auction of 25 top items, from the chance of leasing a racehorse to flying lessons, helped raise nearly £30,000 for Barnardo's on the day.

25/06/07

Catering businesses throughout the country have been targeted in a joint promotion between Bestway and Procter and Gamble. In an exclusive ‘Clean Up with P&G Spring Special", caterers were offered a lucky chance in a free draw for a £1000 offer of travel vouchers for a holiday of their dreams.

The two lucky Bestway and Batleys winners - one from Bestway's Luton depot and the other from the Batley's Edinburgh depot are, Aldo  Scanferla of Aldo's restaurant in Main Street, Longridge, West Lothian, Scotland and Michael Feasey from Bennetts Gate Bakery in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.

21/06/07

The Cellar Estates own label brand, owned by the Bestway Cash and Carry group has bagged a total of 25 medals in this year's International Wine Challenge (IWC). The challenge is the wine industry's own Olympics and this year nearly 10,000 wines were reviewed from 35 countries by 400 international judges, so the competition was as tough as ever.

07/06/07

More independent retailers will be given the opportunity to profit from Bestway's unique and highly successful range of specially selected £-lines products. The product line is being rolled out to all fifty Bestway and Batley branches by July 2007.
 
The range comprises of over 350 top value products selling to retailers at 55 pence to be retailed at £1. Retailers can make over 55% mark up or 35% POR.

31/05/07

Buoyed by the success in February of its Best-In own label vs the brand leader baked beans blind taste test where well over half of the 35 participating retailers could not tell the difference, Batleys cash and carry in West Bromwich has repeated the challenge. This time it has been fruit juices under the spotlight. 

Paul Rabone, general manager of Batleys, West Bromwich said:  "This is another huge vote of confidence in the Best-In brand.  We are, of course, delighted with these results, but we were even more pleased that they translated into hard sales with a very respectable 251 cases of the 1 litre size of Best-In Tropical juice sold by 3 pm on the day of the blind test."

In the second blind taste test, 53 retail customers took part, comparing Best-in Tropical juice against the brand leader, and 35 of them said they preferred Best-in to the brand leader.  Comments in favour of Best-In Tropical included "much smoother", "better and sweeter", "more refreshing" and "far better tasting".

20/04/07

CELLAR WINES TASTE EVEN BETTER WITH BIG NEW PROMOTION OFFER

Bestway Cash and Carry group has stepped up its promotion activity for its top selling Cellar Estates range of wines for the forthcoming spring and summer sales period with an innovative tasting initiative called the, "Take One To Taste" campaign.

10/04/07

The 50th depot in the Bestway cash and carry group opened on 16th March in Enfield, North London.  To mark the occasion, Bestway is offering promotions on over 300 products lines until 12th April. The brand new 90,000 square feet depot in Ardra Road, Enfield with parking for 100 vehicles, was built at a cost of in excess of £6 million (including the site cost) and is fully operational now.  It provides all the normal supplies and a wide choice of fresh and frozen food to the catering and independent retail trade as well as the usual comprehensive range of branded and Best-In own label ranges.

19/03/07

A blind taste-test comparing the Bestway and Batleys  own label ‘Best-in’ brand of baked beans with the brand leader has produced some surprising results. Thirty-three customers, who included independent retailers shopping at Batleys Cash and Carry in Kenrick Way, West Bromwich, took part in the tasting.  Nine independent retailers could not tell the difference between the two products and the remaining 24 were split equally in their preferences.

02/03/07