Co-op Wholesale, the new name for what used to be Nisa’s wholesale operations, has announced a new partnership with Roadchef, replacing Spar at eight motorway service locations on the MSA operator’s network.
The wholesaler says this marks a “pivotal” moment in its expansion plans, and the sites in question will begin adopting Co-op Wholesale from June, with fascia and stock changes expected to be complete by September.
Co-op says it and Roadchef, which serves 52 million customers a year, are looking at “further opportunities” that will be “mutually explored”, suggesting that if this initial partnership is successful, the MSA firm may adopt the wholesaler at further sites.
Katie Secretan, managing director of Co-op Wholesale, called the partnership “a huge moment” marking “a new chapter” for the firm that will see it bring “a fresh approach” to the Roadchef sites that form part of the expansion.
Secretan added that her firm’s “flexible wholesale model” will allow it to “select the right fascia and proposition” for each of the stores in question.
Roadchef’s Kevin Whitehouse, retail, procurement & supply chain director for the firm, said that Co-op Wholesale’s proposition “really resonates with what we’re trying to achieve”, adding that the move to Co-op was motivated by “the strength of their own brand range and distribution network.”
