Best of the West

While the title Western International Market appears arbitrary on first hearing, it quickly makes sense when visiting the 86 acre site. It’s very western, by London standards at least, and after ten minutes driving along the M4 you start to wonder if you’ve accidently left the capital.

And it’s noticeably international, with wholesalers Fruits of Lebanon, Saliko, Tydene, and Al Abbas to name a few, showing off their glossy produce for the local Asian market, who as wholesaler Will Hill says, prefer the “big, bright and shiny”.

Londoners might guess that the market’s international flavour is no accident, being situated a stonefruit’s throw away from Southall, home to Britain’s largest Indian community. “Without the Indian and Afghan market we wouldn’t be here any more,” says Ricky White, director of Western Banana Ltd. “All the shops round here have a bowl of fruit outside them, even the phone shops.”

He’s not wrong. The neighbouring Southall hosts a massive array of independent retailers and grocers boasting bright displays of fruit and veg, almost all of which have passed through the doors of Western International Market.

Nadim Traboulsi’s Fruits of Lebanon is a typical Asian-orientated unit for the market, selling a wide range of exotics. “We only sell first-class exotics, we import from Lebanon and Jordan, and we supply Harrods. We have Moroccan watermelon, cherries from Chile, mangoes.”

But like White, Traboulsi recognises that the local Asian customer base is not enough to sustain a market that has suffered over the years from several unwelcome economic paradigm changes.

“We’re not seeing new customers, we’re trying to bring in new customers from other markets. We want new customers – it’s dwindling thanks to the 24/7 supermarkets and their smaller shops. But the supermarkets don’t have the quality we have.”

Supermarkets remain unsavoury subject matter among wholesalers at WIM. Their expansion into vertically integrated behemoths, with round-the-clock opening hours and online sales, has been the major contributor to wholesalers’ declining market share. Furthermore, they have put smaller independent retailers out of business, who are key clientele for wholesalers.

“We’re serving less people, and no new people,” says Andy Osbourne, director of veg trader Knight & Rawlings, “and we don’t serve any retail shops. Many of the smaller retail shops have gone because of the supermarkets. High street shopping is a thing of the past.”

He continues: “This is not just recent, it’s progressed over the last 25 years. In the last two to three years we have really felt a difference in the way we do our business.

“We have got a niche market providing fresher produce for the people coming here. Look at these sprouts – those were in a field yesterday. You wouldn’t get that at a supermarket.”

Faced with static footfall and declining market share, the board of WIM are planning to revive the market by attracting a new base of customers, and they are starting online. Will Hill, director of WT Hill & Sons and member of the market board, says the site needs to “put itself back on the map”.

“The first steps are promoting the site to all in the industry. Secondly we are trying to attract new business to WIM by making the site as attractive as possible, promoting the ease of access and the amazing level of produce and services we can offer. This will be done as we develop our online platform, which is in progress now and will hopefully be up and running this year. We feel the future will be bright.”

Hill’s company is one of the more storied traders at the site, with his grandfather founding the company. They import premium fruit brands, specialising in berries and cherries. He says that wholesalers now have to ply their trade “above and below supermarkets”, a phrase that repeatedly crops up when talking to traders.

“It’s about operating above and below supermarket specification,” says Hill. “This site isn’t fully utilised, it’s got great road links, it should be attracting more catering. The Tenants’ Association is working to promote this site through more catering and independent retailers.”

Above supermarkets, Hill explains, means high-end premium produce, sought after by restaurants, and catering companies. At this level, a punnet of strawberries, such as Beekers Berries’ Sweet Supreme brand, will go for £15, while a box of figs could sell for even more.

Below supermarkets, is anything that falls outside the consistency specifications that retailers require, for example size. These goods can be sold by wholesalers to independent retailers and small shops for street sale, of the kind that proliferate Southall.

“The advantage for growers is that as wholesalers we don’t have a variety specification, we take any specification as long as it tastes good,” adds Hill.

A few stalls down, White echoes his co-traders’ call for raising the profile of WIM. “I think the fruit market in general needs to be engaging in marketing as such. We need to be moving forward with the times and people are stuck. It’s hard to know what to do.”

White adds that greater collaboration between sellers could help the situation by avoiding what he calls a “race to the bottom”.

“Sometimes what drags us down a bit, is when we have someone selling something, while a guy a bit further down is selling it much cheaper. The wholesale market should be talking to each other more, communicating better,” says White.

Despite the commitment and expertise of traders at WIM, the wholesale model can’t help but remain at odds with today’s consumer zeitgeist. Open through the night, lacking internet presence and helpless in the face of supermarket integration, WIM, like other markets, is searching for ways to keep itself relevant to customers “above and below” retailers.

As Hill suggests, health trends, consumer awareness, and a cultural move towards fresher produce means the quality and variety that wholesalers offer could be the lure to bring in the business, with the necessary promotion.

“Things like Amazon Fresh are a great idea, but I’m not sure how comfortable people are receiving fresh produce in a box. People want to take a bit more time and care over where they source their food. They want know what they are buying, hold it to see what it really is. You can’t do that on Amazon Fresh where everything looks the same online.”

Plus, Hill adds, wholesalers can be part of the answer to the well-documented waste problem, which may further tip the balance in their favour. He cites the waste caused by the retailers’ integrated supply chains, resulting from a rigid distribution model. “Supermarkets hold onto their produce in storage too long,” Hill says. “We can take it and sell it on, making sure it isn’t wasted.”

Encouraged by these signs, and excited about the launch of the new website, Hill is confident of harnessing public interest and turning it into new business for WIM. “It’s all about promotion now, and taking this site to the next stage, attracting new business to this market. There’s a lot of public interest there and we need to be bringing it in.”

“Look at the new wholesale market at Liverpool,” concludes Hill’s colleague Damian Weedon. “You had the mayor come and open it up, promoting it with lots of people there. It shows there’s still appetite for premium produce.”