All Columnists articles – Page 16
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Analysis
Tracy West: Shop Talk
I’ve written about this before and I’m sure I’ll write about it again. It’s to do with today’s all-singing, all-dancing service stations. It’s not a complaint: I love them. I wish I had more near where I live or at least one decent one near where I live. The sites ...
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Analysis
Chris Hunt: UKPIA director general
’May you live in interesting times’ is actually purported to be a Chinese curse 2016 was certainly interesting for society in general and our industry in particular. Whether it was cursed remains to be seen. Brexit, both in the run up and subsequent period, following the surprise referendum result, has ...
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Peter Harding: business development director Htec
Just take a look at any magazine or web page and ask yourself what do you see: home automation. There are many, many devices to control home peripherals as well as home applications such as cameras and recording devices, smoke and humidity detectors. But what’s new in the forecourt retail ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
The momentum around automotive fuels, and what kind of motor vehicles we’ll be driving in the future seems to be really building into something more tangible than previously seen. Last month came the news that a global initiative to drive use of hydrogen (see News page 4), had been agreed ...
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Analysis
Shop Talk: Tracy West
Happy New Year to you all. Let’s hope it’s going to be a good one. After all the surprises of 2016, you can’t help but wonder what’s in store and I’m going to take that quite literally and have a look at the new products we might get to see ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
Happy New Year to you all I hope trading was bouyant over the festive season. But while I had intended to continue in positive fashion, I am sorry to hear that it wasn’t a very good start to the New Year for Top 50 Indie, High Noon Stores, which went ...
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Analysis
Kevin Eastwood: executive director BOSS
Police forces across the country are under pressure and forecourt retailers have a responsibility to help the police to use their limited resources effectively. We know that it’s important for forecourt retailers to do more than just report a crime. Unfortunately, some retailers report issues that are not crimes and ...
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Analysis
James Lowman: ACS chief executive
As we build up to the new financial year starting in April when businesses in England and Wales will start paying rates based on the latest revaluation, there’s been a lot in the papers about business rates. While a lot of the media coverage talks about the pounds and pence ...
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Analysis
Shop Talk: Tracy West
I must say that I’m feeling a little bit smug and that’s because all of my Christmas shopping is virtually done. I start early to avoid the crowds and the rush. I don’t mind a bit of atmosphere in shops but don’t like to see people fighting over the last ...
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Analysis
David Charman: chairman CWA
When I look back over the past 20 years trading as a convenience petrol retailer, the change has been enormous. At the start when the oil company logo was above the door, we were viewed with the suspicion that everything we sold would somehow be smeared with oil or smell ...
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Analysis
Brian Madderson: chairman PRA
For several months, the PRA has been lobbying ministers to introduce a fuel duty cut with 3ppl recommended for both grades. The Chancellor invited PRA earlier this month to meet senior officials at HM Treasury and HM Revenue & Customs to present their case. A fuel duty cut would provide ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: editor
It’s not so long ago that you would have recoiled to think that supermarkets and independent retailers could work together on any kind of project, the former having kicked the ’proverbials’ out of the latters’ livelihoods for many years. Now we have two Top 50 groups Rontec and MFG (see ...
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Analysis
Shop Talk: Tracy West
The time when we used to say to each other ’There are only so many shopping days until Christmas’ are rather redundant as shopping is more or less a 24/7 activity thanks to the internet. There’s no doubt that the internet, as well as all of the discounters, are taking ...
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Analysis
Chris Hunt: UKPIA director general
As we move toward Autumn, Brexit and its implications are becoming a reality, at least in terms of the ’pre-fight build-up’. Our Prime Minister, Theresa May, has insisted "Brexit means Brexit" and "the decision of the British public will be respected". It is only over the short time since the ...
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Analysis
Peter Harding: business development director HTEC
This past couple of months have seen a new iPhone (the 7), new IOS 10 and not much else. IOS 10 is said to provide much better connection (untested by me) for home connectable appliances there is even a home app button on the main screen. With regards to the ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: What a shocker
Well that was a bit of a shocker the government consulting on plans to force larger service stations, supermarket forecourts and motorway service areas to provide hydrogen refuelling facilities and charging points for electric vehicles (see News Extra on page 10). The measures are included in a consultation document for ...
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Analysis
Shop Talk: Tracy West
I have a confession I love Nutella. I have to avoid buying it because I can eat so much of it. A while back I bought the teensiest of jars the glass one with the white lid and sat and ate it all with a teaspoon. Then, feeling more than ...
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Analysis
Merril Boulton: Wow what a night!
Wow what a night! Many congratulations to Patrick Sewell and his team at Sewell on the go South Cave for becoming our latest Forecourt Trader of the Year winner. It’s a second time around for him he last won in 2009. There was generally a very high standard of entries ...
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Analysis
Kevin Eastwood: BOSS executive director
Technology plays a big part in our campaign to reduce forecourt crime by speeding up communications and the processing of large amounts of information. More efficient ways of working are absolutely necessary when you consider that approximately 900,000 times a year drivers either drive-off from a forecourt without paying for ...
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Analysis
Shop Talk: Tracy West
I hope you’ve had a good summer and your fair share of the gorgeous weather. I was down on the Kent coast the other evening and popped into a convenience store for a cold drink. The drinks were cold so that was good but what caught my eye was a ...