Devon wholesaler R D Johns has left Unitas with immediate effect and joined The Wholesale Group.
The wholesaler has £90m turnover and has been in business for 55 years. Led by managing director, Andrew Lewis, the business operates from a purpose-built head office and depot in Kingsteignton, with further sites in Bath and Andover and dedicated butchery production site in Newton Abbot.
Commenting on joining TWG, Andrew Lewis, managing director of R D Johns, said: “Joining The Wholesale Group marks an incredibly positive and exciting step for our business. As a family business, we have always believed in building strong, long-term relationships, and we can see that same spirit of collaboration running through TWG. Membership opens up significant opportunities for us in own brand, giving our customers access to high-quality, competitively priced ranges, while also strengthening our access to leading branded products through the fantastic scale and supplier relationships the group provides.”
Read more: RD Johns secures multi-million-pound funding package for expansion and acquisitions
Commenting on its exit from Unitas, the buying group released a statement stating that the wholesaler chose to terminate its membership with immediate effect ‘to protect the collective commercial interests of its members, maintain the integrity of its supplier trading arrangements and ensure fairness and consistency in the application of its membership rules.
John Kinney, chief executive of Unitas Wholesale, said: “We are naturally disappointed to lose RD Johns, who have been a longstanding and valued member of Unitas. However, our responsibility is to protect the collective interests of all our members and the strength of our supplier partnerships. Our membership terms and conditions exist for this very reason, and it is essential that they are applied fairly and consistently.”
Coral Rose, managing director of The Wholesale Group, said: “We are thrilled to welcome R D Johns into The Wholesale Group. They are a huge asset to the group – a progressive, collaborative wholesaler that shares our ambition to work together for mutual benefit. It is fitting that another family business is joining a family business buying group, and we are excited about the opportunities this partnership will bring for both R D Johns and the wider TWG membership.”
