Parfetts (Go Local Wholesale) Southampton: shaking-up independent retail supply in southern England

Retail channel wholesaling has faced significant challenges in recent years reflecting the headwinds faced by its key customer base amongst independent convenience retailers.  Independent retailers have suffered from declining sales in traditional core categories such as tobacco and declining footfall against a backdrop of intense price competition in the wider food and grocery market.  However, while established leading national wholesalers have struggled to sustain growth in the channel some smaller challengers have nevertheless found opportunities to expand into new regions, driving market-defying sales momentum through bringing new competition to incumbent wholesalers and a fresh proposition to local retailers. 

Parfetts: a record of out-performance 

Most striking of all these ‘out-performers’ is the business historically known as Parfetts, now to be re-named Go Local Wholesale.  This company has as of 2026 sustained 10-years of continuous growth, in which time its sales have increased by 163% to reach £807m.  Its record, even in the turbulent period since Covid, has been a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2% compared to a sector average that has been only marginally positive on 0.8%. 

A notable underpinning of this remarkable growth has been a progressive geographical expansion with the opening of trading sites in additional regions stretching Parfetts’ area of operations beyond its traditional heartland in the north-west of England and Yorkshire.  In the last eight years new depots have been added in Middlesbrough (2018), Birmingham (2023) and Southampton (2025), bringing large numbers of potential new customers within direct reach of the wholesaler’s offer. 

A transformed service model 

However, while the expansion of its operating base has been important, perhaps a still more significant driver has been the progressive shift from what was originally a self-service cash & carry model to a focus on delivery service.  Driven by online ordering and targeting close customer engagement through a package of support, it’s this change that has transformed the business by helping retailers build and drive sales through their stores. 

It’s delivery that has enabled Parfetts to proactively take its proposition to customers over a much wider area than relying on retailers to visit depots themselves and the package of support (embodied in the Go Local symbol group) provides the value-add that is building bigger customer spend and lasting loyalty.  Go Local membership has grown quickly and now includes more than 2,000 stores across England and Wales and Parfetts can even now boast a permanent customer presence in Scotland with the successful recruitment of its first Go Local stores north of the border, in locations like Lockerbie and Glasgow. 

Southampton: a hybrid delivery + cash carry depot 

Against the background of its evolving operating model Parfetts’ latest new depot in Southampton can be seen primarily as a delivery hub targeting the significant opportunities amongst the extensive independent retailers across the southern counties of England and even up to the outskirts of south London.  As such it represents a significant step towards making the Parfetts offer a fully national proposition and through it, in the year since opening, Parfetts has successfully recruited over 40 stores to the Go Local group including one in Gillingham, Kent over 100 miles away. 

However, while a significant majority of Southampton’s sales (c80%) do come from delivery and the depot has significant space given over to the picking and marshalling of orders for delivery, the largest part of the site is still given over to a traditional cash & carry layout with open access for customers to shop for themselves. 

Though slower to build sales at Southampton, cash & carry (self-service) remains a critical part of the Parfetts model overall, still accounting for around half of all sales across the total business.  Delivery may be the driver of growth as a source of primary customer spend, but cash & carry still has a significant role to play as a source of incremental spend when retailers need to top-up with stock at short notice; something that delivery-only operations miss out on. 

While online platforms have become an increasingly important shop window in communicating with retailers, in-depot communication still offers suppliers an impactful platform for brand messaging at point of purchase.  At Parfetts Southampton offers a modern solution with an extensive battery of large digital screens, which offer a dynamic medium able to bring sequential images and multiple messages to a single location.  As well as being located on most aisle-ends and cross-aisles, digital screens also feature at both the front-of-store promotional and checkout zones. 

Go Local: a joined-up customer solution 

Alongside the strong branded ranges and promotions that are core to the Parfetts offer the Southampton depot also showcases the growing scope of the wholesaler’s own private label ranges which seeks to reinforce the Go Local retail identity and provides its retail customers with value alternatives that offer a stronger margin return to help underpin retailer business profitability.  The Go Local ranges are another piece of the ‘capability jigsaw’ aiming to give retailers a joined-up solution to the challenges of modern competitive environment. 

Much of that ‘joined-up solution’ lies in the relationships Parfetts seeks to build with its customers through field sales contact as well as in depot.  But alongside the personal interactions Parfetts is using technology to engage its retailer customers offering insight and tools to build best practice in their businesses.  Launched in June 2026 the ‘Go for Growth’ programme is an online hub designed to streamline customer decision-making.  It brings together category advice, core range recommendations, planograms and market data alongside promotions, new product development, supplier ‘Big Bets’ and content, all integrated into Parfetts’ existing ordering platform. The platform also provides clear guidance on ‘what good looks like’ in merchandising, display, and activation, helping retailers translate insights into action in-store. 

So where next for Parfetts after Southampton?  No doubt the business will be looking to ensure this site has fully ‘bedded-in’ before moving on to its next new development.  Nevertheless, it’s clear that beyond its still modest presence in just nine locations to date, there is still plenty of clear space where Parfetts will find fertile ground for its attractive brand of supply and support for the needs of independent retailers.