A G Parfett & Sons Limited commenced trading on 1st July 1980, run by Alan Parfett, his wife Pat and eldest son Steve from a 25,000 sq. ft. warehouse in Reddish, Stockport. Robert Parfett, the youngest son, joined the company in 1981.

The Reddish depot grew rapidly and by 1983 was believed to be the busiest cash and carry in the UK based on sales per sq. ft. In 1984, a 15,000 sq. ft. extension was added and the depot established itself as the North West’s premier cash and carry.

In 1986 Parfetts opened a second depot in Aintree. However, in December of the same year, a fire completely destroyed the warehouse in Reddish. New 60,000 sq. ft. premises in Stockport were obtained and within 14 weeks Parfetts was back in business. The Stockport depot, now 100,000 sq. ft., remains Parfetts’ flagship operation and houses the company’s head office.

In 1989 an additional 40,000 sq. ft. unit in Anfield was purchased and extensively modernised. Meanwhile, the new Aintree depot had proved to be extremely successful and in only three years had outgrown its 82,000 sq. ft. As a result, the site was extended in October 1990 with a 105,000 sq. ft. new build project at a cost of over £3 million.

In February 1989 Alan Parfett retired, becoming Chairman of the company as Steve Parfett was appointed Managing Director, assisted by fellow Director Robert Parfett and Robert Miller the Financial Director.

Parfetts is an active member of the Landmark Group. In 1994 Alan retired from Landmark’s Board of Directors and, following in his father’s footsteps, Steve was elected onto the Board.

In September 1994, Parfetts acquired the 117,000 sq. ft. Watson & Phillips cash and carry in Somercotes, Derbyshire. Over the last decade, Somercotes has benefited from considerable investment and has returned equally significant increases in trade.

In November 1995, Steve Parfett was elected Chairman of the Landmark Group.

In June 1998, Parfetts’ fifth depot was acquired through the purchase of a fellow Landmark member’s business in Halifax. In just two years sales were up 50 percent and they continue to climb year-on-year.

In March 2000 Steve Parfett was elected Chairman of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors, a position Alan Parfett held in the 1980’s. This is the first time in FWD history that a father and son have held this prestigious position.

Parfetts celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2000, with an evening at Pontefract races for 3,000 guests, including customers and suppliers who had supported the business over the two decades.

Parfetts’ also rewarded its employees for their loyalty as each member of staff received a week’s pay for every year they had been with the company. Bonuses of over £600,000 were awarded as staff celebrated their vital role in the Parfetts’ success.

Parfetts became one of the first cash and carry’s to sponsor a professional football team when it became shirt sponsor for Stockport County Football Club in 2002. Parfetts has utilised this sponsorship for the benefit of its retailers, promoting its premier brand of Scandia lager and the local shops that sell it.

In March 2003, Parfetts announced the appointment of Bill Pace as Trading Director. This is only the second appointment of a non-family Director in Parfetts history.

November 2004 saw the opening of Parfetts' sixth depot in sheffield. This was a purpose-built state-of-the-art warehouse.

Parfetts is currently playing a leading role in the FWD ‘My Shop Is Your Shop’ campaign, a new retail initiative that promotes the community value of local shops and drives consumer traffic to participating stores.

Parfetts was also on the founding commitee of the FWD's Take Home Blueprint Scheme - an initiative to help independent retailers with thier alcohol merchandising.