Bestway welcomes retailers back for ‘Drinks at Home’ conference

On behalf of Bestway Wholesale, the UK’s largest independent food and drink wholesaler, Bestway Retail welcomed retailers back to Liverpool Exhibition Centre last week for the 6th Annual Drinks at Home Live Exhibition.

Over 350 Bargain Booze, Select Convenience, Costcutter and best-one retailers attended the event alongside over 100 key supplier partners and many key Bestway Retail stakeholders.

Dawood Pervez, Managing Director at Bestway Wholesale, who welcomed retailers to the event and delivered an update on the business, said, “We were delighted to welcome all of our retailers to, what we believe, was the best Drinks at Home tradeshow yet. Our suppliers certainly pulled out all the stops with show-stopping stands and great content for our retailers.

“A key highlight of the day was showcasing our innovative ‘store within a store’ concept.

“These dual branded Bargain Booze within a Costcutter stores have been launched at Meopham and Whiston and seen strong outcomes. Jamie Davison, our Head of New Business and Store Development at Bestway Retail shared with our retailers how this pioneering concept aims to meet the needs of our customers, enabling them to buy everything they need across a full day.

“This is an exciting milestone for us as a business – and there is more to come,” Pervez said.

Mike Hollis, Retail Director at Bestway Retail and Head of Bargain Booze & Coop Franchise at Bestway Retail, Duncan Jelfs, took to the stage to talk to highlight how franchisees and retailers can successfully drive sales and margin in their stores. This was followed by a lively Q&A session.

There were presentations from suppliers including: Pernod Richard on a Summer Cocktail Masterclass and SHS Drinks on WKD – The Original Challenger Brand.

As well as the main presentations throughout the day the 100 key supplier partners had stands where they shared best practice, gave retailers an update on new product developments and an opportunity to sample their products, as well as offering retailers exclusive show deals. In addition, there were seven premier stands from Diageo, AU, Halewood, Molson Coors, Coke, NZO and Phoenix rentals.

There was a Booze Bar where the Bestway Retail marketing team showcased its summer advert and offered retailers digital advice and guidance.

Mike Hollis, Retail Director at Bestway Retail, added, “The Drinks at Home event is the perfect opportunity for our retailers to engage with suppliers and Bestway stakeholders. This year is particularly special as it’s the first time that our Costcutter retailers have been able to join us.

“The focus for the event was to ensure our retailers are set up for the summer and that they were able to take advantage of the exclusive show deals on offer from our suppliers.”