Parfetts will be investing more into its chilled delivery service, after admitting its relationship with Nisa is not helping it get to “where it needs to be” in the category. 

Fifty retailers out of 500 from Parfetts’ Go Local symbol group are using a chilled drop shipment service supplied by Nisa.

Speaking to Better Retailing at Parfetts’ annual retailer conference last week, managing director Greg Suszczenia said: “We’ve gained a lot of ambient logistics experience and the next challenge is chilled. A lot of customers are asking us about this. 

“We want to grow chilled and will offer ambient and transient on the same day in two deliveries. We’re nowhere near where we need to be and we can only solve this ourselves. 

Symbol groups invest more in deliveries

“We’re doing a huge disservice by not helping our retailers include chilled in 20% of their business.”

However, despite its ambitions, Parfetts retail director Guy Swindell said the wholesaler does not wish to alter its relationship with Nisa. 

“Our retailers have different perceptions of chilled,” he said. “There are those who want it delivered, those who are happy picking it up at the cash and carry, and those who don’t want it.

“We want to give our retailers a competitive advantage to make them look better than a Co-op and change the minds of customers who think their nearest Go Local won’t have the range they need.”

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