Richard Clothier md, Wyke Farms
Having one of your major customers – Morrisons – effectively delist your products overnight could easily have created a year of trouble for Wyke Farms md Richard Clothier.
However, instead of quietly skulking away to his lick his wounds Clothier came out fighting, launching a social media campaign to get the 40,000 units sold each week at Morrisons back on the shelves.
While the retail giant refused to back down, the David versus Goliath battle made Clothier a hero to many firms that are constantly at the mercy of the multiples’ whims.
Clothier and his team have been able to build on the substantial support he received on Facebook and Twitter and to build a dedicated and thriving online community for its brands.
Since becoming md in 2005, Wyke Farms has sustained double digit growth every year, notching up sales rises of 82% in 2006 alone.
Today, Clothier continues to campaign for the better treatment of manufacturers, calling for the Voluntary Code of Practice for the Dairy Industry to be extended to include manufacturers and retailers.
Watch our exclusive video with Clothier to find out why he believed the new Groceries Code Adjudicator – set up to monitor retailer relationships with manufacturers – was like the marriage guidance service Relate.