Sweeney’s Budgens Update

Last Friday, we, like everyone else, were surprised to hear that Tesco and our wholesaler Booker plan to merge.

Booker are the largest wholesale supplier to the catering trade and independent retailers, as well as owning the Budgens brand. Currently, whilst Booker supply most of our products, Sweeney’s Budgens is a privately-owned business.

So, the question we are all asking is what will this mean for Budgens in Wendover. There are many positive aspects to the proposed deal. Tesco Booker have stated that the proposed merger will continue to supply independent retailers. They say it is a good deal for customers because the combined companies will have even greater buying and sourcing capabilities which will improve choice and price.

Concern has been expressed that the combined group will have too big a share of the grocery market, thus giving consumers less choice. For this reason, the deal will most probably be referred to the Competition and Markets Authority and this will mean it unlikely that the merger, if approved, will take place before 2018.

We in Sweeney’s Budgens want to give our Wendover customers a great local shop, offering a wide choice of products, good value, and friendly service.

We are particularly proud of some of our independently locally sourced suppliers. Cook frozen meals, Tim’s Dairy yogurts, Rex artisan breads and Kings Farm meat are all very popular and we plan to keep adding to these ranges.

While we await more details in relation to the merger, we will continue serving Wendover as a local independent retailer.

Thank you for your support.

Dary and the team,

Dary Sweeney

Owner

Sweeney’s Budgens

High St

Wendover

Bucks

HP22 6EA