All Convenience Store articles in 7 November 2009
View all stories from this issue.
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News
Towering sucess
Spar retailer Paul Stone's latest store is the epitome of modern convenience retailing with its carefully staged lighting, wide aisles and metre upon metre of chiller space.
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Blog
Treat store workers like nurses or firemen
Government must clamp down on violence against workers in any community role, says James Lowman of the ACS
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Product News
Blueprint drinks scheme halted
The Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD) has ended its Take Home Blueprint programme, which provided independent retailers with industry-agreed planograms and merchandising support in the alcohol category.
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News
A warning bell sounds for store alarm systems
Is your alarm working properly? More importantly, does it meet your insurer's stipulations?
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News
Child's play; coping with kids in the aisles
Kids. They might be shy of 3ft tall, but these tiny people can have a seriously big impact on your business.
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News
Local stores take their message to MPs
There is no better time for local retailers to press for reform than in the months leading up to a general election, said speakers at last week's Heart of the Community Seminar, organised by the Association of Convenience...
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News
A ray of light for smaller stores
The many small stores who find themselves outgunned in the ongoing battle against the giants of gas and electricity supply can take some comfort from new licensing conditions set by the industry's regulator.
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Features and analysis
Smugglers turn to stores for supplies
The scale of Britain's trade in illicit tobacco trade has been demonstrated in a series of incidents which took place just weeks after MPs voted to burden legitimate retailers with the cost and disruption of a display ban. Earlier this...
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News
Tories vow to turn the tide of red tape
The Conservative spokesman for small businesses has said the Party would "give independent retailers back the power to compete" if it comes to power in next year's general election. Mark Prisk MP, tipped by many as a likely minister in a...
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Dear Jac
Dear jac: what happens if we lose our local school?
Matthew Slater rang to ask where he could get information on the impact that the loss of a local school would have on its village.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: VAT is going up
Certain queries make my heart sink and my head hurt. VAT is top of the list. But I am heartened to hear that others find it puzzling, too. John Turner, who runs Turner's Newsagents in Leeds, emailed the following: "I wondered if you could find out...
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News
VAT change forces review of pricemarks
The UK's biggest tobacco company is temporarily phasing out pricemarked packs on certain lines to help retailers adjust to the end of year VAT change. Imperial Tobacco is ceasing production this month on pricemarked packs of Richmond King...
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News
Chains in the frame to grab Threshers
Costcutter and Bargain Booze are among big-name retailers believed to be interested in snapping up stores from collapsed off-licence chain Threshers. Just under 380 First Quench retailing outlets, which also includes the Wine Rack and The...
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News
Dean caught out by testing times
An independent store owner who failed his first test purchase after more than 14 years of selling alcohol is urging his fellow retailers to redouble their efforts to prevent underaged sales in the lead up to the festive season, when purchasing...
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News
Campaign update: Stop tobacco proxy purchasing
Convenience Store has been campaigning for adults who buy cigarettes for children to be made liable for prosecution, as they are in the case of alcohol. An attempt to add an amendment banning proxy purchasing of tobacco products the...
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News
Display ban: review or reverse?
Mark Prisk's speech at the ACS Heart of the Community seminar did little to reassure retailers that a Conservative government would throw out legislation to ban the display of tobacco products in stores. Most Conservative MPs opposed the...
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: charging for carrier bags
Here's a little retail detail bit. Jeeta Bhadal runs a Londis in Leeds and he rang to say that he had started charging 5p for carrier bags. It's win-win, he says.
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News
Furious newsagents consider action on Sun rate cut
News International (NI)'s decision to reduce retailers' cash margin on The Sun by 1.6p per copy has been met with “revulsion and contempt” by newsagents who say the move will take over £10m a year out of retailers' tills.
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News
Communities act to take back control
Local businesses across the country are soon to benefit from radical changes to the way their communities are run thanks to the Sustainable Communities Act, which is now in full swing. More than 300 proposals to tackle community decline...
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: More outrage about Payzone
Harjeet Mann from Chesterfield writes: "Just letting you know that I'm a now a former Payzone top-up retailer thanks to the new charges applied for minimum level of transactions."