Jo Gilbert discovers how Bestway’s new integration model is reshaping convenience retail
As Bestway enters its sixth decade, the scale of what it has become is striking. From a single west London depot opened in 1976, the business founded by Sir Anwar Pervez now spans more than 60 depots, serves around 100,000 retail customers, operates across wholesale, retail and drinks distribution, and generates close to £3bn in UK turnover. Yet for Kenton Burchell, group trading director since 2019, the story of Bestway is less about scale for its own sake and more about how the business has continually evolved to support independent retailers in a changing market.
“Passing the 50-year milestone is a hugely proud moment,” the former trading, logistics & marketing director for Conviviality, says. “We may be a £3bn business today, but the founding principles are still very much alive. Our core purpose remains exactly what it was at the beginning: helping independent retailers to thrive in their communities.”
Cash & Carry roots
Today, Bestway holds the title of the UK’s second-largest symbol group operator (Costcutter alone has over 1,200 stores). However, it didn’t start out that way.
What began as a wholesale operation serving local shopkeepers has grown into a complex B2B ecosystem supplying convenience stores, symbol operators, off-licences, foodservice customers, pubs and specialist retailers including pet stores and garden centres.
“Independent retail today spans far more than convenience,” Burchell explains. “It includes catering, foodservice, on-trade and specialist retail. Our structure has evolved to serve all those customer types.”
There are certainly other wholesalers and symbols groups out there. What Bestway prides itself on, however, is being able to offer a flexible model designed to meet retailers at different stages of maturity. Independent retailers may begin as cash & carry shoppers, move into Bestway’s retail club model and then progress into one of its symbol propositions – Costcutter, Best-one or Bargain Booze – each of which aligns to different shopper missions.
Costcutter is led by fresh and grocery top-up, Best-one is impulse and food-to-go led and Bargain Booze is a drinks-at-home proposition. “Retailers can tailor their model to their location and demographic – and some operate across more than one fascia,” Burchell says.
Strategic acquisitions
Two acquisitions in particular have proved transformational. The purchase of Conviviality Retail in 2018 brought Bargain Booze and Wine Rack into the group, while the purchase of Costcutter Supermarkets Group in 2020 cemented Bestway’s position across mainstream convenience.
“What we acquired with Bargain Booze was not just a route to market, but deep drinks expertise and the most advanced mainstream drinks-led proposition in the convenience sector,” Burchell says. “We knew we could leverage that through the rest of our business.”
The result has been a re-think of how alcohol sits within convenience retail – not as a bolt on, but as a way for each operator to meet the needs of its local shopper base while driving differentiation and margin.
The hybrid model: Store within a store
That thinking has come to fruition in Bestway’s hybrid integration model, which combines a primary convenience fascia with a specialist alcohol concession under one roof. In practice, this means Costcutter or Best-one stores have begun incorporating Bargain Booze or Wine Rack concepts in store, curated by specialist drinks teams. “We started rolling this out around two years ago,” says Burchell. “The consumer gets the best of both worlds: a strong fresh and grocery offer alongside a leading drinks proposition in a small-store environment.”
The results have been striking: hybrid stores have delivered sales uplifts of up to 220%, with more recent rollouts achieving a 48% increase in weekly sales, a 40% rise in footfall and an 11.7% increase in basket spend, alongside margin growth. Crucially, the model is not prescriptive. “There’s no fixed formula,” Burchell explains. “We’ve opened hybrids in neighbourhood locations, forecourts and transient sites. It’s an intensely localised approach, driven by data and demographics.”
Why alcohol matters
At a time when total alcohol volumes are under pressure, Bestway is continuing to grow the category ahead of the market. Burchell points to a nuanced approach to value, premiumisation and moderation, as: “Value means different things to different shoppers. For some it’s Glen’s vodka at the right price; for others, it’s Tanqueray. Our job is to provide a tiered solution.”
Growth areas include world beer, RTDs, accessible premium wines and low & no. Bestway is seeing strong performance from Guinness 0.0 and Corona Cero, Burchell notes, while also acknowledging that wine remains the most challenging part of the category.
The business has also been willing to invest heavily to support retailers. In July 2025, Bestway put £10m into lowering prices across key categories – a decision Burchell describes as “tough, but necessary” in a high-cost environment.
Technology, data and the next phase
Behind the scenes, data and technology are playing an increasingly central role. From EPOS systems to real-time stock management and targeted promotions, Bestway is using insight to fine-tune local ranging and maximise the use of its space.
When asked what has been the toughest call to make over the past few years, Burchell answers “range rationalisation. We’ve had to reduce duplication so we can focus on what genuinely drives sales, while continuing to invest in price and margin for retailers”.
Fifty years after its founding, the structures being put in place today suggest a business still very much in build mode. The company has been somewhat inward-focused during those decades – it rarely gives interviews or deeper insight to the outside. But Bestway’s hybrid integration and specialist category expertise paint a picture of an ambitious company focused on shaping convenience retail, rather than just being content to respond to it.
“Success for us is simple,” Burchell concludes. “If independent retailers are growing, profitable and relevant in their communities, then we’re doing our job.”
