Parfetts, the employee-owned wholesaler behind the Go Local symbol group, will change its name to Go Local Wholesale in January 2027. After turnover rose 10.6% to £807 million, the business is targeting £1 billion in sales and 3,000 symbol stores by 2028, with Scotland and South Wales named as growth areas.
Parfetts was founded by the Parfett family in 1980 as a regional cash and carry operator. It now runs nine wholesale depots, including a 113,000 sq ft site in Southampton, its first in southern England. The rebrand, announced on 13 October 2026, is the first major change of identity in the company’s history. It brings the wholesale arm under the same name as its Go Local retail fascia, and the depots and delivery fleet will carry the new logo.
Turnover of £807 million and a £1 billion target
In its latest financial year, Parfetts grew turnover by 10.6% to £807 million. It is now aiming for £1 billion in annual sales by 2028. Over the same period it wants to take the Go Local estate from just over 2,000 symbol stores to 3,000, with 500 stores already in the pipeline. Noel Robinson, joint managing director of Parfetts, said it took ten years to reach the first 1,000 Go Local stores and five years to reach 2,000. Online orders now account for more than half of all customer orders.
A symbol group, not a franchise
Go Local is a symbol group: the retailer keeps ownership of the shop and trades under the fascia through a supply agreement with the wholesaler, rather than the contract that binds an operator to a brand’s system across the food and drink networks recruiting UK partners.
That puts it alongside SPAR, Premier and Nisa rather than franchise networks. Parfetts itself is employee-owned: every member of staff holds a share, profits are shared through an annual bonus, and following the latest results, every employee will receive a bonus worth 10% of pay. “We are proud of our history, but we are no longer family-owned,” Robinson said.
Scotland and South Wales in the growth plan
The wholesaler’s delivery network used to stop at Berwick-upon-Tweed and now reaches as far as Dundee. Parfetts delivers to between 200 and 250 Scottish stores, of which about seven trade as Go Local, and it aims to convert 30% to 40% of those delivered customers to the fascia. A Scottish depot may feature in longer-term plans. “We’ve had a great reception in Scotland, and we see that as one of our growth potential areas for the future,” Robinson said. The business is also expanding into South Wales.
A consumer app for Go Local retailers
Alongside the name change, the wholesaler is launching its first consumer app, designed to bring shoppers to nearby Go Local stores with promotions, loyalty features and geotargeting. Retailers will be able to connect their home delivery platforms; Snappy Shopper is already a partner and talks are under way with Uber Eats. Stores will also get their own microsites and an AI tool that creates and posts social media content. Further technology and efficiency investment is planned for 2027, and joint managing directors Guy Swindell and Robinson say it will be business as usual for retailers during the transition.
