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25 years of delivering the goods Glasgow wholesaler Glencrest is celebrating its silver anniversary with a plan to get the business back on track this year post-COVID and capitalise on its B2C growth.
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rothers Ross and Fraser confectionery, alcohol, crisps, snacks Gourlay started wholesaling and catering products to a wide range 25 years ago as an extension of customers throughout Scotland. to their retail convenience These include local authorities, leisure store business in Glasgow. trusts, universities, colleges, schools, “We were working from the garage nursing homes, restaurants, bars, enterat my parents house and anywhere else tainment venues, social clubs, sports we could store our stock,” Ross recalls. facilities, golf clubs, outdoor events, As the wholesale busicaterers and convenience ness grew, the company stores. sold its retail shops and Since 2007, the combegan operating from a pany has also operated a 20,000 sq ft unit in confectionery van sales Balmoral Street, Glasgow division, calling on conIn 2014, it moved again to venience stores with a its existing premises in core range of confecClydeholm Road in the tionery products. west end of the city. Other major develop“The depot is about the ments over the years Ross Gourlay same size as our previous include joining Sugro in one but is higher, giving 2009; implementing a new more storage space. We also have copiback-office system, Microsoft Dynamics, ous yard space for parking our trucks and in 2016, which improved business effiloading and unloading,” Ross explains. ciency; and introducing online ordering Today, Glencrest is still owned (with direct deliveries throughout the equally by the Gourlay brothers. Fraser UK) and click & collect in 2019. looks after vehicle fleet management, And last year, in response to lockwhile Ross predominantly manages the down, the Gourlay brothers pivoted online and digital aspects of the business. Glencrest to a business-to-consumer The family’s involvement was (B2C) model. “The last year has been a strengthened when Ross’s children Kari difficult one, given our significant foodReilly and Cameron Gourlay joined the service customer base,” says Ross. “We business in 2013 and 2015 respectively. saw an initial increase in sales to retailKari is now senior buyer, while Cameron ers which was predominantly in larger is head of operations. format take-home packs and multipacks, Today, Glencrest supplies soft drinks, which present margin challenges.
“We moved our B2C online business forward during that time to the point that it currently accounts for close to 30% of our overall business.” Ross continues: “We lost a few staff during COVID – not our choice, they just didn’t like the new work balance and changes in job roles. We currently have 14 staff and we’re actively recruiting in several roles in anticipation of an upturn in business post-lockdown. “Our key focus at the moment is online B2B and B2C, supported by our upscaled online marketing and advertising team.” A well-known figure in the Scottish wholesale trade, Ross looks back at the past 25 years with a smile, but admits that the last 12 months have been hard: “I have some truly amazing memories from our Sugro overseas conventions over the years, but the last year has been the most memorable and challenging in our company history. “Our plans are hopefully to get back on track this year once our customers open again and to continue to develop CCM our online business.”
A B2C service now accounts for 30% of the company’s turnover.
Glencrest is big in confectionery sales.
www.cashandcarrymanagement.co.uk
April 2021
15
