Paul Hill speaks to the sales director of the leading alcohol wholesaler in Jersey
What’s the Randalls proposition?
The history of Randalls stems from two brothers back in the early 1800s who started working in breweries and eventually started one of their own. One went to Guernsey, the other stayed in Jersey to run the business that would become the Randalls of today. We carried on brewing under Edward Greenall until the 1990s, when we stopped and chose to invest in pubs instead, and then the brewery became the first to import beer into the island via Scotland and Newcastle.
Now we import all the wet products needed to run an on-trade hospitality business. We also supply the pubs we own, of course, as well as free trade customers, with the aim to always provide good-quality drinks at a decent price, while providing the best customer experience to the venues we supply. We do this by treating our customers more like business partners.
What products do you trade in?
We work in pubs solely across Jersey and compete with three other drinks wholesalers on the island. We and Liberation are the only importers of draught beer and the only wholesalers who work across all alcohol categories. We also run and supply our own pubs, but also supply to independent outlets across the island.
We import many of our drinks from the UK as well as a few products from Italy and France. We choose to go further afield because, despite the UK links of customer preferences like beer and ale, there is also the French influence with more wines consumed here compared with mainland UK.
When it comes to product development, we use the UK as a testing ground because there tends to be a similar response here, but that’s not to say everything that works on the mainland will succeed in Jersey. To facilitate this we work with one freight company to get the products into the port.
What gives your business its USP?
The history, certainly, but I think it’s mainly down to the fact that we’re always there for our customers and give them the support they need to grow. However, customer service isn’t really a USP anymore as a lot of companies have realised that they had to up their game in that field, but I like to think we do it very well.
What are your growth plans for the years ahead?
We bought an outlet in 2018 called The Boathouse, which was a big turning point for us as it was a two-floor restaurant/bar and, as a result, the first premium venue we worked with. This led to us evolving our product offering and it has worked very well.
Following this, we bought a similar premium venue called Beach Club and this diverse strategy is one we’ll be sticking with moving forward when the right acquisition opportunity arises in Jersey. As well as this, we’re also looking for a larger distribution centre due to outgrowing our current one.
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What is the strategy for the next five-to-10 years?
We’re currently at 21 outlets and aiming to get to 25 in the coming years, which could be achieved by opening new facilities or buying customers we already supply to. The first step is a new Pan-Asian restaurant/bar called Nomu that should open later this year.
There is also an idea to slightly diversify into the hotel trade, although this is a very difficult market to crack.
There’s also the possibility of acquiring a food wholesaler, and we have looked at buying one in the recent past, but it was the wrong timing.
Overall, there’s no definitive acquisition strategy in place – it’s instead a matter of considering the opportunity if the right offer comes up at the right time.
What is the biggest challenge that the business faces?
Working on the island, you’re restricted with how much you can expand, with it only being a population of 100,000 people and low footfall. It’s also difficult from a staff perspective, with work permits needed to work on the island. Wetherspoons has tried and failed to base its business here, which shows the difficulty companies face with legislation, freight costs, duties and location. Furthermore, although we have lower tax rates, everything else is so expensive that it balances out.
It’s hard to be unique on the Channel Islands, with most outlets tending to sell a bit of everything. For example, specialist vegan and craft beer places have opened and closed in recent years.
