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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON FORECOURT MAINTENANCE: Keeping costs under control
Despite the presence of a great convenience store or super-fast EV chargers, for many people the main reason they go to a service station is to fill up with petrol or diesel. And for them, nothing is more of a headache than seeing those brightly coloured plastic, out-of-service signs.
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON FORECOURT SHOW 2024
If you’re looking for a new fuel supplier or want advice on investing in valeting equipment. If you’re looking for a cutting-edge security solution or help on extending the lifespan of your forecourt assets. Or if you want advice regarding the thorny issue of fuel pricing, then the Forecourt Show is the place to go.
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON FASCIAS: Group effort
Whether it’s because they want a well-known name above their door or the buying power that comes from that name, or the own label that’s offered or the regular promotions – thousands of forecourt retailers choose to be part of a symbol group.
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON EV CHARGING: Weighing up the options
To invest or not to invest in EV charging? That’s the big question for a lot of you at the moment. But what if a third party does the investing for you?
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON FOOD TO GO: Changing the menu
Many of you have been doing food to go for a long, long time. It’s been a big success story that has really put a lot of sites on the map – whether that’s because you’ve got a Greggs and/or a Subway, you’ve decided to do your own thing or you do a really popular meal deal.
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON EASTER: Hatching a plan
Easter is early this year with Good Friday on March 29 and Easter Sunday on March 31, and this means fewer days to sell chocolate eggs, which in turn means getting them out on display early to tempt shoppers. And we all know that many of those shoppers who buy early, also eat early and therefore need to come back for more!
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON TANKS AND PIPEWORK: Phased approach
Having any work done on your forecourt can be a headache, especially if it means downtime across whole site.
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON SNACKING: Light bites
Ask 10 different people what they like to snack on and chances are you’ll get 10 different answers. The snacks could be anything from crisps, chocolate, a sausage roll or fruit right through to beans on toast – all depending on when and where they are snacking.
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON TOBACCO AND VAPING: Running out of puff?
How times change. In the 1930s-1950s, cigarettes were advertised as being good for you. An ad for Camel cigarettes back then advised people to ‘Give your throat a vacation’ by smoking a ‘fresh cigarette’. It went on to say: “Try them for just one day. Then leave them – if you can.” And we all know what happened next – basically millions of people couldn’t leave them. However, since then, education and legislation has led to the levels of smoking coming way, way down.
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON PROPERTY: Express delivery
The biggest property story of 2023 was, of course, the sale of 132 Co-op sites to Asda, closely followed by EG Group selling most of its UK estate to Asda. This led to a massive roll-out of the Asda Express brand as Co-op and Euro Garages fascias were taken down to make way for the bright green Asda logo.
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON EASTER: Creme of the crop
It’s not even Christmas yet but some shops have got Easter eggs out on their shelves. Yes, where once you wouldn’t have spotted a Creme Egg before at least Boxing Day, some stores have them – and shell eggs – out on their shelves already. According to news reports, bargain store B&M has them out already and it has certainly got them a lot of publicity.
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON EPOS: Breaking down barriers
Typically, the biggest barrier to any retailer taking on new retail technology is cost. However, Henderson Technology says it has taken this barrier away by offering all its products on a monthly lease agreement, from the installation of its EDGEPoS system, to electronic shelf-edge labels (ESELs).
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON BUILDING AND DESIGN: Stunning stations
Members of the general public, when told that there is an award for the design for a petrol filling station, may say ‘But surely they are all the same?’. Obviously, those in the industry know otherwise, as the building and design of forecourts has evolved with the ever-changing needs of today’s drivers and shoppers. Space may not always allow for grandiose plans, but architects have an amazing knack of getting everything in the right place.
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON HOT BEVERAGES: Big cup winners
Many forecourt stores have one or two Costa Express machines but the winner of Forecourt Trader of the Year’s Best Hot Beverages Outlet – Rontec Magor Services at junction 23 of the M4 – has four. And what is more the team at the store ensures the machines are always clean and working well which has been reflected in a 98.5% audit score from Costa itself for the care and maintenance of the units.
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON CHRISTMAS SOFT DRINKS: Santa’s softies
This Friday (November 17) sees the launch of the Coca-Cola Christmas campaign and – love it or loathe it – nothing in the soft drinks’ world says ‘Christmas’ more than Coca-Cola and its red Santa livery.
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FOCUS ON CAR WASH AND VALETING: Winning at washing
Budgens Frilford near Abingdon in Oxfordshire was the winner of the Best Valeting Facilities Award at the recent Forecourt Trader of the Year Awards. And when you look at the family run site it’s easy to see why.
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FOCUS ON OTC MEDS: Rescue remedies
We all know how difficult it can be to see a doctor so it should come as no surprise that the OTC (over the counter) medicines market is booming. Nielsen stats reveal that it’s worth £2bn in the UK with £144m of that spend going through the independent convenience channel.
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Focus On Feature
SPOTLIGHT ON FUEL: Making good progress
There was a sigh of relief from many forecourt operators last month, when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the Conservatives would delay the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans until 2035.
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON TOBACCO AND VAPING: One-hit wonders
We all know that vaping is big business but some forecourts are doing better with the category than others. A prime example is Top 50 Indie Park Garage Group which has invested in its shop-within-a-shop concept, Park & Vape.
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Focus On Feature
FOCUS ON CHRISTMAS ALCOHOL: Festive cheer(s)
In the run-up to this Christmas – just like last year – there will be surveys that say people are being forced to tighten their belts due to the cost-of-living crisis. Of course that is true but on the other hand, because Christmas is such a big event, there will still be consumers who will push the boat out and spend more than they usually do to treat themselves, their families and their friends. But what they choose to buy may change.