Co-op Wholesale is lowering prices on vapes and changing how retailers earn rebates. The wholesaler and symbol group operator plans to reduce wholesale pricing across its vape range by up to 15% starting next month. Vape sales will now count toward retailers’ overall weekly order values for rebates, rather than using a separate mechanism. Retailers can earn up to a 6% rebate if they spend £16,500 or more a week with the company.
Expanded range and tax changes
The company is adding over 200 new vape lines, bringing its total range to approximately 500 SKUs through partnerships with Aquavape and other suppliers. These moves come as the Vaping Products Duty launches on 1 October. This new £2.20 excise duty applies to all vaping liquids manufactured in or imported into the UK, regardless of nicotine content.
Co-op Wholesale said the tax would bring additional complexity to the category and it wants to simplify how value is delivered. A consultation by the Department of Health & Social Care, which proposes restricting displays of vaping and nicotine products, is also running until 2 October.
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Strategic pricing update
The company aims to deliver value directly through lower purchase prices, provide greater transparency, and make margins easier to manage. It is also investing to deliver some of the best pricing in the market. Co-op Wholesale made similar moves with tobacco last year when it invested £2m to drop the wholesale selling price of over 500 tobacco lines. That effort was designed to deliver margins that would help retailers be sustainable and grow in a challenging market.
“Retailers are handling significant change within the vape category,” said Co-op Wholesale MD Katie Secretan. “This is an opportunity for us to simplify the way we manage the commercial value of vape; from rebate to price, offering our retailers a real opportunity to grow their business. “We are refreshing our range to one of the biggest in the wholesale market of over 500 SKUs, and investing to deliver some of the best pricing in the market too. We’re going big, to support our retailers at a time that really matters.”
