On the day the Journal pitched up at Cardiff Wholesale Market, just down the road, Cardiff City were imploding. The wholesale site doubles up as an official matchday car park for the local football team, nicknamed the Bluebirds, which is allegedly some £31 million in debt and having divested themselves of fans favourite and skipper Graham Kavanagh on the day in question, the city was awash with despair, rumour and counter rumour.
Which sounds like a bad day at any one of the UK’s horticultural wholesale centres in the last 15 years. However, despite a retraction in trader numbers and the coming of a wide range of non-horticultural tenants to Cardiff’s Bessemer Road site, rumours were aplenty but despair was in short supply as the market prepares to herald 40 years in the same location.
Like the Bluebirds, Cardiff’s traders have watched as the market’s resources have dwindled, and seen competition that used to play in the same league move onto a different level. But the market is certainly not £31m in debt and far from losing key players, an ex player in Vitacress has just returned to the ranks.
The tenants list now includes two meat/chicken traders and a fish specialist, as well as three from the motor trade and a diverse range of bankers, clothes recyclers, medical equipment suppliers and wine merchants. But while the fruit, veg and flower traders have welcomed their new neighbours as a necessary adjunct, they are not rushing to snap up either oxygen cylinders to thin the rarified trading atmosphere or a few bottles of plonk to dull the pain.
Mike Prescott, company secretary of Wholesale Fruit Centre, the central body that has run the privately-owned site since it was built, and opened by the Queen in 1965, says: “Principally, my role is to keep the site fully occupied and in that respect we have been quite successful. There is a very diverse mix of tenants, but from the market’s point of view, even when tenants have left, the space has been filled very quickly.”
Cardiff is one of the quickest growing capital cities in Europe and Bessemer Road is on prime industrial land, situated between the impressive Cardiff Bay development and the city centre. Previously fully-owned by fruit and vegetable traders though, WFC has got members from other sectors, as well as a property development company Ashfieldland, which can now lay claim to around 40 per cent of the site, as well as adjacent land that houses a B&Q superstore.
Naturally many of the rumours circling the market surround the direction it might take in the future. “Nobody knows precisely what the intentions of the property developer are,” says David Hunter, manager of Bristol Fruit Sales (Cardiff). “But you have to presume that there are long-term plans. There are now only three fresh produce firms in the market that own their own premises, including ourselves, but until now I think the developer has waited for people to go to him.”
Families and individuals who used to trade in the market still retain a financial interest too, so the ownership picture and how that will affect the market’s evolution is not entirely clear. “There is general uncertainty, which means that little or no investment has been made in the market as a whole. As companies, we are investing in our own premises, but the market is being repaired as and when problems occur,” says Hunter.
The patch-up job must be working up to a point, because despite its advancing years, the site does not seem to be a major concern to most.
More worrying is the lack of a joined-up trading backdrop. Redbridge’s Gary Jenkins has worked in the market since joining TJ Poupart 32 years ago, at a time when there were 32 individual traders on the floor. “It is far more broken up now,” he says, looking at the closed shutters that separate one trader from another in the quadrangle. “Even though the stands are being used, people are opening at different times of the day,” he adds.
With 33 years in the market, Mack’s manager Alan Lovell says: “There were more companies working next to one another and we all talked to each other. Because of the gaps in the market, that isn’t the case any more.”
The consequence of this has been a change in atmosphere, says Jenkins, and the disappearance of front of stand trading in certain parts of the market. “This market will be one of the first to change completely to being a distribution centre,” he predicts, “and in time, that will probably involve moving away from this site.”
“It would be nice to see us relocate, it can sometimes be like living in the dark ages,” says Peter Broughton’s sales manager David Johns. “But that decision will come when the people who own the property in the markets receive what they consider to be a suitable offer.”
As a representative of one of the companies that does own its own site, Hunter adds: “I see a very good future for the wholesale trade in south Wales, but not necessarily in the market environment. Everyone accepts that this market was fast becoming a distribution centre operating in a wholesale market, although that has changed a little with the opening of Vitacress.”
Jenkins says: “Like all UK markets, the last decade has seen a big, big change in the way we trade. There has been a decline in the number of independent retail customers in our catchment area, but we have seen some benefits from the booming catering trade and distribution. As a company we reflect that - in Cardiff nearly 70 per cent of our fruit and veg business is catering.
“There are some wholesalers that buy from us in west Wales, and we also have a satellite depot in Fishguard, but most of our business is focused on the catering trade in mid and south Wales. We have a number of refrigerated vehicles dedicated to that.”
The changing emphasis has seen BFS move in the opposite direction to others on the market. Three or four years ago, says Hunter, around 30 per cent of its business was carried out on the front of the stand - now the split is around 50:50, although both sides of the business, which are operated separately, have expanded significantly in that time. Hunter says: “Until Vitacress opened up, we were the only company to have expanded its capacity in years. As a company our policy has always been one of continuous investment and progress.”
At Vitacress, Mike Harring-Burn says: “I think there will always be a market environment, but whether the tenants here will outgrow the site as it is now is up for debate. There has been talk of a purpose-built site in the past, to bring us into modern times, but I’m not sure that most of the people here would want to move. The fact that this site has some value can only be a good thing though, as we could pick and choose our sites if we were to decide to move.”
Lovell agrees that the market will never disappear and says: “There has been talk of a move for years, but for us this is an ideal location. We run a fleet of vehicles and this site gives us good access to the road network and our customers who are within around a hundred miles in radius from here. The distribution side of the business is an expensive exercise, but it is all part of giving the customers what they need.
“The customer base has diminished but the people coming here now are bigger and better for still being around,” says Lovell. “The spend of each customer is bigger than it was a couple of years ago and that helps to compensate for the lower numbers.”
“We’re the same as the other firms here,” says Johns. “Around 70 per cent of our business is delivered now. We have 14 lorries on the road - while it is not necessarily the best thing for a wholesale market, it is the way the trades gone and if it wasn’t for that side of the trade, quite frankly we’d all starve.”
Ian Wheaton, a partner in Solo Imports with Stephen Dowling, says the last few weeks have typified the problems facing wholesalers: “The prices we are having to ask for Iceberg, broccoli and cauliflower, for instance, do not give our customers a chance against the supermarkets. It is a big enough battle as it is, but as the supermarkets take a bigger slice of the supply, independent retailers are bound to find it more difficult to compete directly with them.
“A smaller site would help, but it would be expensive and I can’t see it happening. Where we are is where we are. I’m 36, my partner in the business is 40 and we would like another 10-15 years out of the trade please.
“People need to walk into a market and within 20-30 minutes have found the products they need. A decade ago or more we were selling on open price tickets, but now we have to weigh up what our customers can afford to pay with what we need to make as a company to keep the turnover ticking over. In that respect, we are probably in a better position than some of the larger concerns on the market.”
Lower numbers of customers there may be, but against the general trend, a “new” company opened up in Cardiff in February. Vitacress Sales was one of the founder members of WFC, but left the market as a tenant more than 10 years ago. It surprised many - and caused quite a stir - by re-opening five weeks ago, with an operation being run by three ex-Redbridge salesmen Mike Harring-Burn, Robert Radusin and Craig Howells. Harring-Burn says in the first few weeks “we have done more than we could have hoped for. Considering we opened in half-term, one of the worst weeks of the year, and the weather has been less than kind to us, we have had an excellent start”.
He has been in the market for 25 years and between the three men, Vitacress can count on nearly 75 years of wholesaling experience. “We have set out with a definite goal,” says Harring-Burn. “We don’t believe success is all about being the cheapest option - we will be supplying quality product at the right price, which gives everyone an opportunity to earn some money - the grower, the customer and us. If the partnership is good for one of the parties, but not for the others, then it is not going to work in the long-term.
“We want the customer to a) get the gear they want and need and b) receive the service levels they deserve either to their shop or on their van. Most of the retailers we work with are involved in their businesses from the wholesale market through to the end consumer and they haven’t got time to be searching the market for what they need for two or three hours. They need to be at the sharp end, to serve their customers, and we want to provide them with choice, quality and value in an efficient, polite and tidy manner.
“The customer service element of wholesale has been missing in Cardiff for far too long. You wouldn’t get that in the supermarket sector, so why should our customers have to put up with it?
“I feel that we are doing something for the trade. There are a number of companies here that have closed down units and laid off salesmen, but we are investing in our premises and want to engage people with a good flash of a wide variety of produce and bring back some of the excitement in the market.”
Harring-Burn says, as you would expect him too, that the advent of another wholesaler is good news for the market overall, and says that he has no wish to see any other firm suffer because of the added competition. As Vitacress’s neighbour, Hunter says its arrival next door has been a boost to BFS trade. “I think some traders have taken their eye off the front trade and paid the price. We have a strong delivery service, as well as doing well in front trade and after eight years on our own on this side of the market, Vitacress has provided a new focus. We have seen faces that we hadn’t seen for a long time and we will benefit from that. Already we have seen a positive impact on our sales, which would I guess mean that trade has been taken away from others here. For Vitacress to survive and thrive, there would have to be casualties.”
At Mack, Lovell says: “I wish Vitacress all the best. It is a plus for Cardiff that a company sees some potential and there are not many markets in the UK where new firms are moving in. But trade is very challenging, and hopefully any success they have will not be at the expense of someone else.”
Hugh Bird of TJ Bird says: “There is still a lot of business to be had and Vitacress is obviously confident that they can make a go of it. We’re confident too, trade is steady and we’re doing our fair share. But only time will tell.”
“We have got to the stage now that there are only really five main players in this market,” says Johns. “There is a living here for all of us although we are chasing each other’s business.
“Competition is not a bad thing, it puts you on your toes and you do not want to get lethargic. It has geed the sales staff up a bit and when it has all settled down we will see exactly where we all stand. Any trade that they do pick up has to come from somewhere - we are all selling basically the same products.”
Ian Wheaton says: “In its present condition, the market doesn’t need another wholesaler. Nothing against Vitacress, but there is only a certain amount of money coming into this market and they can only take from others.”
And Steve Bevan at WR Bishop is also unhappy: “Trade is absolutely terrible here and the market seems to be going nowhere,” he says. “The supermarkets are selling produce at lower prices than we can buy it and we just can’t compete. I would like to still be here in 10 years, but it is getting harder to source the product - the smaller growers aren’t there any more. It is positive that the people who are still here have survived, but I can only see it getting much harder.”
Another contributory factor in the semi-disappearance of the classical trading environment is the lack of official trading hours. The views of tenants are split between the recognition of a need to cater for their customers by being on-hand for the west Walians who make the long round trip to market in the early hours of the morning and the fact that opening later means that more local customers dribble in rather than queue at the gates in time for a set opening time.
Hunter says: “The market is permanently open, which takes away some of the trading buzz first thing in the morning. It also means of course that salesmen have no breathing space. But once you have created that situation, it is very difficult to go back. Distribution is available, but there will always be companies that travel long distances just to ensure they get exactly what they need.”
Johns says: “Customers used to queue up to get in, now I start at 2.30am and the night staff have been taking orders through the night so we can get our lorries away early. There is still a very good trade done at the front. If it disappeared you would soon lose the feel for the trade.”
A number of traders pointed to the open ended hours as a reason for the lack of “young blood” in the market. The average age of the sales team at Mack, for instance, is 47, and it is not alone. But Mike Prescott says that while initiatives to attract younger staff have drawn a blank generally, the fresh produce trade is not isolated in its inability to bring in the next generation of employees.
Prescott has watched the development of the companies in the market with interest. “My aim is to keep this market viable as a site and these are all independent businesses whose job it is to compete and run themselves as efficiently as they can. The market still looks smart compared with other markets and it is well maintained. But undoubtedly if there was the flexibility to plan ahead, some bigger projects could be undertaken.
“Cardiff is as vibrant and exciting a city as there is and we have a seven-day-a-week market to service its needs. But there are other markets that are capable of serving some of our catchment area, so our tenants need to keep ahead of the game.”
BFS ON THE UP AND UP
During the last 12 months, BFS Cardiff has gone through a transitional period involving major investment and expansion. Director Steve Payne, pictured on right, with David Hunter, says: “Whilst not wanting to move entirely away from traditional market trading we recognized that to generate new business we had to offer a service that is different to that of our competitors. Subsequently, due to our BRC Higher Level accreditation, we were able to successfully tender for contracts with HM prison service, the NHS and various pub chains. We have recently doubled our fleet of refrigerated vehicles and purchased additional warehouse space in order to cope with the extra business.
“We see our Cardiff branch as an integral part of the BFS group and see no reason why we should not continue to build on our recent success. We are obviously very anxious that the future of the market is determined as soon as possible. However we see a very bright future for BFS in south Wales and it is possible that any future expansion plans may take place away from the market environment.”
FLOWER OF WALES
Redbridge’s Alan McLean has been in the flower business in Cardiff since 1976 and, after a boom period in the late 70s and through the 80s, the trade experienced a more difficult spell in the 90s. The supermarket floral offer has improved in recent years and for the first time impacted on the wholesalers in the area, but McLean has responded by reopening the old banana ripening rooms in the cellar of the Redbridge Flower stand and adding a sundries and seasonal gifts and decorations side to the business.
“We started in October last year and Christmas went extremely well,” he says. “There are not many people doing this type of thing around here and Redbridge publicised it very well.”
At the same time, the early months of 2005 have been busy. “Valentine’s Day, St David’s Day and Mother’s Day have all come in quick succession and it has been busy and prices have remained high. It is the first time I can remember St David’s Day and Mother’s Day falling in the same week, but there has been good demand for a wide variety of flowers,” he says.
McLean is pictured right, with Clive Jennings, left, and Paul Union.
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