Kali Mulchandani, Director of Imperial Cash & Carry won a Gold Medal for the Cash & Carry Manager 2012 at the FWD Awards last Thursday. Judges were particularly impressed by his work on renovating the depot and volume growth through text marketing.

Kali commented, “I’m extremely pleased to win the award, especially as its such an important year for Imperial Cash & Carry – our 25th Anniversary.”

Kali’s niece, Nikkita, was also nominated for Young Wholesaler of the Year 2012. The awards at Old Billingsate on Thursday 29th September were the cherry on the icing for Imperial Cash & Carry, who raised £20,000 for charity over their 25th Anniversary Year.

Imperial Cash & Carry would also like to extend their congratulations to their suppliers who were successful at the FWD Awards 2012: Boost Energy, who won the award for Grocery Brand of the Year; InBev, who won the award for Drinks Brand of the Year for Stella Cidre; Coca Cola, who won the award for Services to Retail; and Heineken, who won the award for Actionable Insight. Well done folks – some well deserved awards.

Imperial Cash & Carry celebrated their 25^th Anniversary in style at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday 15^th November 2012. Their charity gala ball “Silver Cirque” wowed guests with a variety of circus performers and entertainers, including jugglers, stilt-walkers, magicians, acrobats and much more. There were special guests aplenty, including Arsenal Legend Charlie George, Andy Love MP, Mayor Councillor Kate Anolue and representatives from Macmillan Cancer and The Homeless Resources Centre. The night was a remarkable success, raising £20,000 for the charities. Mayor Councillor Kate Anolue remarked, “It is amazing and refreshing to see a local family business celebrating such an important achievement in these tough times.”

In 1987, Ghanshamdas Mulchandani and his sons, John and Kali, grew their business from a chain of retail stores into a wholesale operation. As guests looked back on the memories in photographs and videos on the night, they viewed the history during which Imperial Cash & Carry has supplied thousands of off and on trade customers beers, wines, spirits, confectionery and tobacco over the past quarter of a century. In their speech, John and Kali Mulchandani thanked their valued suppliers, loyal customers and exceptional staff for their service and commitment to the business over the years.

Silver Cirque was in aid of two important charities, the Homeless Resources Centre in Edmonton and Macmillan Cancer. The event raised just under £10,000, and Imperial Cash & Carry matched the sum raised from their own pocket so that £10,000 could be donated to each of the two charities. Managing Director John Mulchandani commented, “It gave us great pleasure to raise such a significant sum for two charities that are close to our hearts. Both my father Ghanshamdas – the founder of Imperial, and my sister passed away from cancer. Macmillan provides sufferers and their families with the strength to cope with cancer. Imperial Cash & Carry has also always wanted to give something back to the less fortunate in our community – and this is what we have achieved by donating to the Homeless Resources Centre in Edmonton.”

The date of the anniversary event held a particularly special significance, as John and Kali’s mother would have been 78 on the day. John outlined, “She was a driving force in the family and was always pushing us to expand and develop their business. To this day, Imperial Cash & Carry has seen year on year growth for every single one of our 25 years – a feat that would have had our mother bursting with pride.”

Having reached the important milestone of 25 years, Imperial Cash & Carry is now looking ahead to the next 25 years. Ravi, Rahul and Nikkita – three members of the third generation of the Mulchandani family have active roles in the business. Nikkita launched Imperial’s retail club two years ago, and she now has over 150 independent retailers enrolled in the scheme. Rahul has also launched “The House of Drinks” http://www.thehouseofdrinks.co.uk – a retail website delivering luxury wines and spirits directly to consumers. Director Kali Mulchandani commented, “John and I are so proud of our children and how hard they have worked at developing Imperial and innovating within our sector. Thus as we celebrate our achievements and look back with fondness over the last 25 years we are also eagerly looking ahead into the next 25 years of Imperial Cash & Carry – during which we hope to see continued growth, development and success within our business.”

Imperial Cash & Carry will be holding a trade day on 27th April. Make sure you don’t miss out on the special offers and prizes to be won! It’s Imperial’s 25th Anniversary year, so we will be celebrating driving up your profits for 25 years by showcasing Red Bull’s Formula 1 car as well as some real WOW deals.

There will also be the opportunity to win a Martell van, as well other prizes such as a Mini, iPad and laptop. We look forward to seeing you there!

Jeremiah Weed Brews are a range of refreshing tasting brews, reportedly “best served in a jam jar over ice”. This latest innovation from Diageo is available in two variants:

• Jeremiah Weed Root Brew, which has a distinctive ginger beer-like tast
• Jeremiah Weed Sour Mash Brew, which has a distinctive Bourbon-like taste

This unique brand aims to break the uniformity of everyday life, offering the consumer something more adventurous, besttramadolonlinestore.com engaging and different. It is a refreshing drink with a distinctive look and feel that will appeal to male consumers, but offers a different proposition from lager. The pack size is 12x500ml and the RSP is £3.95.

To celebrate the launch of this exciting new product, there will be tastings as well as a can’t-be-missed promotion at Imperial’s next trade day on 27th April 2012.

3^rd February 2012, London

Imperial Cash & Carry marked the opening of celebrations for their 25^th Anniversary year this Tuesday (31^st Jan 2012), at a supplier and trade press briefing. The briefing was held at their depot in Edmonton within their luxurious new conferencing suite.

The day gave suppliers and trade press an outline of the past, present and future of Imperial Cash & Carry – a family business – right from their origins in 1965, to their development as a wholesaler in 1987, to the third generation’s involvement in the future. Imperial kicked off the day by inviting Brian True from Magners to officially open their conference suite – the perfect choice since Mr. True has looked after Imperial’s account for every single one of their 25 years in the wholesale sector.

On the day, John Mulchandani gave a brief history of the business, alluding to the family’s struggle in the 1960s and 70s, when it was difficult to make ends meet. He told the story of how eight members of the family shared a small 2-bedroom flat above their first shop, Oxford Farm Dairy, and how early experiences of working at the shop after school helped him and Kali develop a strong work ethic and an understanding of both retail and trading. John and Kali’s father Ghanshamdas, who ran Oxford Farm Dairy in North Kensington, was known as “Mr. Sham” by everyone in the neighbourhood, and was well loved and trusted. A big inspiration to the brothers was their mother, who was a keen buyer herself, despite knowing little English. Thus their shop was right at the heartbeat of the community – like many of the shops that have been buying from Imperial for the last 25 years.

The day revealed that 2012 promises to be a fantastic celebration for Imperial, incorporating the following key events and activity:

• Imperial will be giving a keynote speech at the Today’s Group Conference in Nassau, 25^th – 30^th March 2012. As a founding member of the Today’s Group, Imperial’s input into this event will be paramount.
• Euro 2012 Promotional Activity (June)
• Olympics Promotional Activity (July/August)
• Celebratory Trade Days all year round, with show-stopping displays
• Charity Gala Dinner (Thursday 15^th November)

The family will also be raising money for two worthwhile causes throughout the year, particularly at the charity gala dinner in November. Sadly, the head of the family and founder of the business, Ghanshamdas Mulchandani lost his life to cancer in December 2004.  In his honour, the family will be raising money for Macmillan, who provide practical, emotional and financial support to those affected by cancer. Imperial will also be supporting a local charity – the Homeless Resources Centre in Edmonton.

Director John Mulchandani comments:

“This year presents a great opportunity for us to celebrate the joint success of our customers, our suppliers and ourselves; however we also have a fantastic opportunity to help those less fortunate than ourselves. We are lucky to have been successful in Edmonton and now we want to give back to the community that has supported us. That is why we will be supporting the Homeless Resources Centre in Edmonton – a worthy charity that helps vulnerable people in our local area break out of the cycle of deprivation.”

Imperial promise that their celebratory trade days will deliver five Es by:

• Exhilarating 25th year promotions, to get the blood pumping e.g. pricing items at £19.87 or 25% off when you buy 25 cases
• Energising turnover and profit
• Entertaining with celebrities present on the days
• Exciting customers with the themed Olympic and Euro 2012 activity
• Electrifying, show-stopping displays

Director Kali Mulchandani comments:

“Our strap-line for the year is ‘Understanding Your Business’ – this is because we feel that for 25 years, we have done everything to understand and address the needs of both our suppliers and our customers. Having started out as retailers, my brother and I both really understand and have sympathy for the problems our customers face on a daily basis. We are always at hand to listen to them, which is particularly important at present as we are trading through tough economic times. We understand our suppliers too – and we have championed many of their brands from inception to success.”

Trade Marketing Manager Nikkita Mulchandani explains:

“We see this year as a springboard for the future at Imperial Cash & Carry. Our new conference facilities mean that we can hold events in the evenings for our Retail Club that will incorporate merchandising advice, tasting sessions and special promotions. We welcome our suppliers as well as local charities to make full use of our new facilities. We will also be launching many new and innovative trade-marketing methods this year. We will be developing our Retail Club and we are keeping well ahead of the times by using our online platform to grow our business as well as Facebook, Twitter, Text and Email Marketing Campaigns.”

Rahul Mulchandani adds:

“Furthermore, we will be launching a premium delivered high-end drinks website, ‘The House of Drinks’ this year. This will give suppliers an opportunity to feature and market their premium products online with us. If you’re looking for fireworks, watch this space!”

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