Western International puts a couple of myths about the wholesale business firmly in their place.
Where many would tell you wholesale has had its time, and will never recover from the impact of supermarkets entering the high street, many firms at Western are focused on bringing new things to the market, and there is a buzz of optimism down the west London market’s buyers’ walks.
Another popular gripe is the lack of young people choosing a career in wholesale, which is giving the industry an uncertain future. Again, although this is arguably a very real problem, at Western there are a surprising number of proactive young faces on the market.
One firm that combines both these aspects is family-run firm WT Hill. Founder Bill Hill has worked in the markets all his life, beginning at Chiswick market and moving with the old Western International site to its present location. He claims there is a “renaissance” in market trade for high-end produce, and says his business is doing better than ever before.
Bill’s son Joe is a director in the business and displays a passion for the markets that is supposedly rare among young people. Along with a colleague from the business, and a few other traders from the market, Joe travelled to Fruit Logistica in Berlin in February, where he scoured the floors for new lines to bring home. The trip was arguably a success as WT Hill is now importing two new ready-to-eat avocado and papaya lines, from a Dutch firm. “We are always looking for new lines to bring to the market,” he says. “We get a lot out of Berlin, we see lots of new things and this year managed to secure some new lines. Being based in London is a great place to introduce new things – people like novelty here. We try and have something that no one else has got.” On life in the market, Joe admits you’ve got to love it to work the unsociable hours. “There is always a future in fresh produce. I’m really enjoying it – we’ve got a great platform and we can march on from here,” he adds.
Creating a unique selling point seems to be a trait among other firms at Western. Whereas WT Hill has specialised into offering premium fruit, sales director of JT Hill, Tom Hill, says the company’s strategy is to buy in volume aggressively, and obtain the “best produce at a competitive price”.
Core lines are vegetables, salads and herbs and Hill says the company supplies every part of the industry from caterers, farm shops, markets and retailers. With 12 years spent on the markets and a family background of greengrocers, Hill is another ambitious and sharp young businessman who is clearly driving the business forward.
Market banter may be commonplace, but Western seems to have more than its fair share of good humour, which no doubt helps firms such as Vitacress Western to retain staff for so long. Assistant manager Andy Richards has tallied up a record 26 years of service, while manager Chris Washer has been there for 22 and other salesmen can claim double figures. “We are known for soft fruit, stonefruit and vegetables, less on the exotics side,” says Richards. “There will always be room for markets, although I don’t know if there’ll always be room for three in London. At the moment, Western supplies a lot of Indian and Asian communities, whereas Spitalfields has a lot of Turkish customers, as well as the east of the country. Western gets Oxford and the west of the country.”
Speaking about life at Western, director of Maroc Veg, Hassan Chentouf, says: “The market has lovely people – the majority of our customers are like family, you see them every day so you have a laugh with them. The atmosphere is good.” Chentouf, whose brother is based in Morocco with sister company Immoveg, says the company is one of the UK’s largest Moroccan watermelon importers, because it is able to work directly with growers with no middleman, and no language barriers.
“Working with other countries, sometimes you don’t always think the same way, so that’s the advantage we have. My brother is a director with Immoveg and so he knows what I need quality-wise for the UK, and that gives me peace of mind and confidence,” he says.
With a potential rent raise on the horizon, there is some discontent on the market and many believe that the council could be more supportive. Chentouf is clear about what wholesale contributes to the economy and why it deserves more support: “We don’t get much support from the government – they support big businesses rather than small,” he says. “The majority of people in England are employed by small businesses, and that’s always been the case. But there isn’t much help coming through from the council.
“The country is thriving off us, so support us. Big companies don’t contribute – we contribute, we pay our taxes. There are lots of unemployed people out there – if we were growing we could employ more people for packing, unloading etc.”
Another company that is clear on the impact of any meddling with small business tax rates is Fruity Fresh. Director Neil Chowdry says: “One of the biggest problems is the rates for small businesses are going up, and that will affect our industry in a big way. I know this from having our own small shop, but this is the same for our customers.”
Fruity Fresh has built its reputation as a specialist for exotic niche vegetables, and imports from a range of countries including Kenya, India, Ghana, Pakistan, Uganda, Cyprus and Spain. “Because we import, we supply a lot of other markets. Most people bring their own lorries, although we can also deliver,” Chowdry adds.
Fruity Fresh is not alone in sourcing from a rainbow of global markets – companies such as Fruits of Lebanon have good links with Jordan and Lebanon and can source specialist produce such as Lebanese white figs. Sales manager Micky Lal says the company is seeing year-on-year sales growth, and is known for supplying premium produce such as white dragonfruit, baby figs and white cherries into top-end retailers including Andreas Veg in Chelsea, Artichoke in Hampstead and caterers such as Panza’s.
“This year lots of things are early, in particular strawberries – there is lots of seasonal change on the supply side, due to climate change,” says Lal, who notes recent weather issues have caused some vessels to miss time slots, and disrupted supply.
Known as the “UK’s airfreight market”, many Western firms benefit from owning their own farms in key supply countries, including fine bean importer Fresh4u, which has production in Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Thailand. Accounts manager Dilip Kumer says: “We specialise in five types of beans, primarily from Kenya. We supply other wholesalers, other markets and chains such as Londis, and offer a range of pre-pack and loose beans, as well as mangetouts, sugar snap, Tenderstem, garlic and ginger.”
Another company with strong links abroad is CyproVeg. Director Aristides Aresti is a second-generation Cypriot born in the UK, and says his company imports herbs from Cyprus, as well as Israel and Spain.
“Herbs is a growth business as we are more aware of the different cuisines thanks to TV chefs,” he explains. “We are much more adventurous with our cooking. We live in a cosmopolitan society that is open to new ideas.
“Lebanese caterers are our primary customer base in the UK, we have a lot of Chinese customers on the south coast, and nationwide we supply to lots of Pakistani customers,” he says, displaying the characteristic awareness of Western International traders about their place in the wider wholesale and produce industry. “Western International has a nice vibe,” he adds, and I have to agree.
Tenants fightagainst rent raises
Western International Tenants’ Association is fighting against a proposed 80 per cent rent increase that traders says would “cripple” the market and even see some businesses cease trading.
Chairman Andy Owens, who is also the director of wholesaler Owen & Owen, says the relationship with market owner, the London Borough of Hounslow, used to be good but has deteriorated recently. “They outsourced the market’s finance department to an outside contractor and it’s gone downhill since then,” he explains. “If they win their case it could mean that 50 per cent of the market goes out of business. We are fairly hopeful it won’t come to that – we’ve got consultants working for us and think we could offer a three per cent rise. Some firms are already struggling with current rents, and they are also trying to increase service charges.”
Owens says traders were told to expect a five-year rent review, but although this has been delayed by two years they will have to backdate payments to the five-year mark. “All councils are being squeezed by the government, so they need to make cuts. But there is so much inefficiency at local government level – what we’re paying is outrageous for the service we get,” he adds. “They’ve got no incentive to be efficient – we pay for all repairs and services to the market building. We moved into a brand new market and they’ve been making repairs almost from the word go.”
Rent review discussions should be complete by mid to end of February, Owens continues, although service charge negotiations are ongoing.
