All Columnists articles – Page 10
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
So it’s already March and at the end of this month, who knows what will have happened re what’s become the dreaded Brexit situation. But one thing is for certain, and that is the success of the Top 50 Indies, which is clear to see in our latest report published ...
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Analysis
Chris Judge: analysis editor, Argus Media
Oil prices continued to rise as it became clear that the US was not securing a quick win to force President Nicolas Maduro from power in Venezuela, prolonging sanctions on the country’s oil exports. Benchmark Brent crude oil futures ended February at $66.03/bl, gaining $4.14/bl on the month. Diesel prices ...
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Analysis
Alexander Russell: consultant, Car Wash Association (CWA)
Continued pressure by the Car Wash Association (CWA), together with support from MPs, was responsible for finally getting the issue of rogue hand car washes (HCWs) onto Parliament’s agenda via the Environmental Audit Committee’s (EAC) June 2018 hearings. It was rewarding that the EAC’s remit, the context in which they ...
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Analysis
Stephen Marcos Jones: UKPIA director general
It is a new year, but the fuel supply industry faces the same challenges with uncertainty surrounding the UK’s exit from the EU first and foremost a concern on the forecourt and across our sector. While the message coming out of Westminster has often been confused and incohesive, the message ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: retail commentator
I’ve played the National Lottery since it began nearly 25 years ago. Indeed I went to its launch at the Tower of London; I still remember it now. My old news editor remembers it too, because she says that after the first draw I came into work so disappointed because ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
Great to see that Shell is raising the bar on forecourt food with its launch of the Jamie Oliver deli by Shell range. The forecourt sector has been crying out for some ’properly decent’ food on the go, for some time. With the increasingly sophisticated, modern forecourts and services that ...
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Analysis
Ray Blake: PRA technical director
My name is Ray Blake and I am a ’Petrol Head’. My addiction to cars drives my wife mad and I thank her for putting up with my obsession for over four decades. From the moment I was given my first Corgi model car when I was five, a Studerbaker ...
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Analysis
Chris Judge: analysis editor, Argus Media
UK transport fuels shed around 1ppl in January, but the losses are expected to be short-lived, as international oil markets climbed steadily through the month in response to the US sanctions against oil-rich Venezuela. After shedding more than $30/bl in 2018 to end the year at around $53/bl, benchmark Ice ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: retail commentator
Happy New Year to you all. I was going to begin the year with a look at trends but, if you were to believe all the hype, the biggest trend of all seems to be veganism. I say this because I was in my local Sainsbury’s right at the beginning ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
Happy New Year to you all let’s hope it’s a good one, as the song goes. As we launch into 2019, things appear pretty positive for the fuel retailing sector, with property prices staying strong despite the big deals done last year (see Focus on Property, p31). Even MFG’s buyout ...
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Analysis
Kevin Eastwood: BOSS - executive director
During the second half of 2018 we saw a significant rise in incidents of crime on forecourts, and the BOSS Forecourt Crime Index for the third quarter of 2018 revealed a 13% rise in the number of incidents. Rising fuel prices also pushed the cost of crime to retailers up ...
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Analysis
Chris Judge: analysis editor - Argus Media
Oil prices continued their downward trajectory in December after heavy losses in the last quarter of 2018. Concerns about over-supply were further complicated by an uncertain global economic outlook in response to US trade tariffs on China. These losses were partially reflected on the forecourt, but domestic retail prices continue ...
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Analysis
James Lowman: chief executive, ACS
As we kick off 2019 with the government still squarely focused on Brexit, it’s easy to forget that there are other domestic policies and interventions on the horizon. We’re especially interested in two areas where the government is looking to influence consumer behaviour through new legislation. Let’s start with plastic ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: retail commentator
Can you believe it’s December already. Well, actually I know all of you can because you will have been planning your stock and staff for months. Me? Well, I am just your average consumer so the fact that December is here is still a bit of a shock! And with ...
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Analysis
Brian Madderson: PRA chairman
Many industry watchers thought that the very high values achieved by dealers (up to 12 x EBITDA) for their assets would soon start to wane. They had been exiting the market to sell to fast-growing groups backed by private equity funds where there was keen competition for rapid expansion. The ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
What an aggressive lot those ’gilet jaunes’ are, turning Paris into a war zone last month with the worst riots in decades. Protesters clashed with police, looting stores and torching shops and cars, creating absolute chaos on some of the most iconic streets in the city. The reason? Rising fuel ...
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Analysis
Chris Judge: analysis editor, Argus Media
International oil prices were in freefall in November, posting the steepest monthly decline in four years on oversupply and political turbulence rippling through two of the world’s largest producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia. These heavy losses were reflected reasonably faithfully on the retail gasoline market in the UK, but falls ...
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Analysis
Alexander Russell: consultant, Car Wash Association
The Parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has published its report on hand car washes (HCWs) in the UK following written submissions and hearings held in the summer from a number of stakeholder parties, including the Car Wash Association. What transpired from the committee’s investigations was that serious and highly polluting ...
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Analysis
Stephen Marcos Jones: director general, UKPIA
As autumn begins to pinch, this is when we as a nation (or the high street retailers at least) begin counting down to Christmas. Santa’s delivery supply chain while impressive only covers one day of the year whereas we’ll have to keep fuel flowing over the whole Christmas period and ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: retail commentator
I was lucky enough to have the chance to visit the Forecourt Trader of the Year 2018 recently A26 Tannaghmore in Northern Ireland. And what a pleasure that visit was. It was easy to see how it wowed the judges. The star of this particular site is undoubtedly the food-to-go. ...