All Columnists articles – Page 12
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
Just back from an excellent PRA/ACS Forecourt Conference, which both informed and inspired in equal measure. The world is always changing, but there is something about the current pace of change and uncertainty across many aspects of life business, political, technological, environment that would be easy to become quite unsettled ...
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Analysis
Kevin Eastwood BOSS - executive director
During the FIFA World Cup there were a number of countries who started the competition with low expectations. However, some quiet, careful and thoughtful planning helped them to achieve and make their nations very proud of their performances. The forecourt sector can draw similarities, in particular, when it comes to ...
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Analysis
Charlotte Blum: analysis editor, Argus Media
Changing expectations of supply amid continued strong demand pushed oil prices first down then up again in June, with Ice Brent futures ending June at $77.85/bl. Opec and its partners have been overachieving their agreed output cuts, and on June 22 agreed to reign in their over-compliance. In effect this ...
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Analysis
James Lowman: chief executive, ACS
In recent weeks, the Centre for Social Justice has published a report called Desperate for a Fix, focusing on tackling retail crime and calling for fresh thinking at a national and local level to find policies that can address the increases in theft and other crime that retailers have experienced ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: Retail commentator
A recent survey of 1,000 consumers across the UK (undertaken by SOTI who say they are the world’s most trusted provider of mobile and Internet of Things device management systems in the world), found that 80% of people would be ’comfortable’ in a retail setting where only self-checkout tills were ...
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Analysis
Brian Madderson: PRA chairman
In the real world, the latest UK vehicle statistics from SMMT for January to May 2018 versus the same period last year confirm the collapse of diesel models (-31%), some recovery in petrol +11.3%, the anticipated increase in hybrids +22.6% but a surprising drop in batteryonly electric (BEV) by 4.9%. ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
Quite an eye-opener at last month’s APEA meeting (see News Extra, page 10). Not normally my type of gig, since it’s all very detailed legal and technical stuff relating to the Petroleum & Explosives Acts and associated environment legislation. It was all about the fourth edition of the Blue Book ...
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Analysis
Charlotte Blum Analysis editor
Geopolitical moves by the US have dominated oil prices, with sanctions on oil producers driving them up further. But Opec is signalling it could increase output, and the danger of a global trade war has just bubbled up again as a threat to demand.UK retail prices in late May were ...
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Analysis
Alexander Russell: consultant, Car Wash Association (CWA)
The Car Wash Association, in conjunction with the Petrol Retailers Association, is continuing to work towards achieving a much greater level of compliance among unregulated hand car washes (HCWs) with employment law, fiscal law, Health & Safety regulations and, most recently, in dealing with the environmental hazards of trade effluent ...
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Analysis
Stephen Marcos Jones: director general, UKPIA
The eighth high-level meeting of the EU Refining Forum was held in April in Brussels. The Refining Forum was first established in 2013 in recognition of the need to address the cumulative impact of policies on the EU refining industry. This important annual meeting brings together representatives from industry, Member ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: retail commentator
With plastic currently ’pubic enemy number one’ it was interesting to read about eco brand Ecover’s recent pop-up Rubbish Cafe in London. If you wanted to go inside, you had to ’pay’ with recyclable plastic rubbish but once inside, you could savour goodies from a zero-waste menu from eco chef ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
Consolidation continues to be on trend as yet more giants, this time Sainsbury’s and Asda, come together to create a mammoth grocery, general merchandise and clothing retail group with a combined revenue of £51bn. And let’s not forget about the 630 or so service stations they have between them, meaning ...
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Analysis
Ray Blake: PRA technical director
How communication and technology have changed and keep changing never ceases to astound me. In the field of fuel dispensing into vehicles we first heard the term ’payment app’ about five or six years ago. For the past couple of years, forums in which I participate have been trying to ...
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Analysis
Charlotte Blum: analysis editor, Argus Media
Brent crude futures at this week topped $75/bl for the first time since November 2014, pushed up by tensions in the Middle East that are exacerbating the underlying effects of strong demand and producers’ output restraint. UK drivers are not yet feeling the pressure of the latest $6-7/bl rise as ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
Good to see hydrogen getting a bit of media coverage as a worthy contender for powering vehicles in the future. There has been such a powerful onslaught from those pushing the electric agenda that anyone would think the future of fuels has been decided, despite the many challenges and limitations ...
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Analysis
Kevin Eastwood: BOSS - executive director
Last month BOSS was able to report that crime on Britain’s retail forecourts fell by 12.2% during the final quarter of 2017. Despite this success, crime on forecourts remains at an unacceptable level. BOSS is already returning £1m a year to forecourt retailers and this figure is likely to rise ...
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Analysis
Charlotte Blum: analysis editor, Argus Media
Demand growth and a strong commitment by Opec and its partners to their continued production cuts have supported prices even as worries of a potential US-China trade war are casting a shadow over expectations of strong demand growth. In late March, Brent futures on Ice topped $70/bl for the first ...
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Analysis
James Lowman: ACS chief executive
We recently published our annual Crime Report, looking at the overall scale and impact of crimes committed against the convenience sector, covering everything from staff theft and fraud, to robberies and ram raids. The headline figures paint a stark picture with almost a million incidents of shop theft reported by ...
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Analysis
Tracy West: retail commentator
The first of the Bank Holidays hits later this month with Good Friday on March 30, followed closely by Easter Monday on April 2. The true meaning of Easter may have been forgotten by most people, but it still resonates with many thanks to those extra days off work for ...
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Analysis
Brian Madderson: PRA chairman
With almost the entire UK recently feeling the arctic effects of the ’Beast from the East’ mingling with Storm Emma, my thoughts turned to all those drivers stuck for hours in their vehicles. Then my thoughts turned to Electric Vehicles (EVs), and I wondered just how long their batteries would ...