FWD Gold Medal Awards celebrate outstanding service by wholesalers

By David Shrimpton in Industry News 17th December 2014

Outstanding service provided by wholesalers to independent retailers around the UK has been rewarded at the annual Federation of Wholesale Distributors’ Gold Medal Awards.

Bestway Wholesale won the top award for service to retail, while its Team Valley branch was named cash and carry depot of the year.

The judges were impressed with the way Bestway had “revamped the group’s support for cash and carry customers through their Xtra Local retail club and adopted digital platforms for communicating with retailers”.

They also praised the group’s investment into the My Rewards loyalty programme for Best-one symbol retailers that “encourages them to focus on growth-drivers within convenience”.

Members of the Today’s Group picked up three trophies.

Atif Rashid, of Glasgow-based Alfa Wholesale, was named best cash and carry manager, while Claire Buckel of Dee Bee in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, provided best customer support.

The gold medal for delivered depot manager was handed to Simon Hannah, managing director of JW Filshill in Glasgow.

Marcus Singh, managing director of Hyperama, was named Young Wholesaler of the Year, while David Cullen, corporate events director at Nisa, won the Lifetime Achievement award.