All Forecourt Trader articles in December 2004
View all stories from this issue.
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News
At your service
Specialist retail research agency ESA has been working closely with Total UK for seven years, setting up and running a tailored mystery-shopping programme. The programme has enabled Total to monitor, assess and improve customer service and its forecourt facilities to ensure the overall service offered exceeds that of its competitors ...
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News
Scrubbing up
Car washing offers the most impressive margins on the forecourt, but with retailers placing a greater focus on their shops, equipment is being neglected by many operators, according to UK car wash suppliers.Mike Ambrose, managing director of Car Wash UK, says: “With shops turning over so much of retailers’ businesses, ...
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News
Power trip
Batteries, cameras and films may not be a forecourt trader’s bread and butter but they do offer the chance to make a tidy extra profit, particularly over the Christmas period. Jenny Hodge, communications manager at Fuji Photo Film explains: “Instant cameras are extremely popular around Christmas, as they are ideal ...
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News
Müller makeover
Müllerlight is planning a brand makeover with a new look and new products. The brand is introducing two flavours – apple pie and lemon cheesecake to meet a consumer need for more indulgent ‘healthy’ yogurts. They will be available in-store from January 1, as will the new packaging across the ...
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NewsTraders at risk with new licensing laws
Petrol retailers could unknowingly break the law by selling hot food throughout the night if they fail to fork out £775 for a premises licence under the new licensing regime.The government’s failure to focus on the late night refreshment angle in its draft legislation means that many retailers could be ...
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News
Kash in with Kitkat
Nestlé Rowntree is launching its biggest ever marketing campaign for KitKat this month.The £20m on-pack promotion kicks off on December 13 and gives consumers the chance to earn “KitKash” – a currency that can be used to bid for a range of rewards. These include cars, exotic holidays, electrical goods ...
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News
Mo’gas: An irreverent view from the network
SO IS YOUR CIRCLE VIRTUOUS OR VICIOUS? The virtuous circle is where you cut your prices and get more customers. On the back of the extra business you’re doing you screw your suppliers to reduce their prices, you reduce your prices and get even more customers and then go back ...
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News
Meaty investment
Cooked meats brand Bernard Matthews has been relaunched with a new corporate look, new product range and the biggest investment in the brand since the 1980s.Best-selling wafer thin turkey ham now comes in a 125g pack with a rrp of 89p, and marinade chicken products, available in three flavours – ...
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News
Hot ticket
If you go down to your local cinema today you’re in for a big surprise – especially if you haven’t been there for some time. That’s because cinemas are buzzing. They’ve never been so popular – each week some 3.5 million people go to see a film and that’s the ...
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News
Warburtons offers half as much
Warburtons has launched two half-loaves as well as relaunching one existing variant in the 400g size.The new products are a full size loaf split in two, giving a full-sized slice but in a more convenient pack format.The half-loaves of Warburtons Sourdough Batch (rrp 75p) and Stoneground Wholemeal (rrp 70p) will ...
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News
Torex targets growth
Retail solutions provider Torex Retail (formerly known as Arciris) has appointed founder member and former sales director Billy Tank as managing director of its Petroleum & Convenience UK division to strengthen its team further. The company has also announced the conditional acquisition of the retail division of Alphameric plc. Torex ...
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News
Jailed for robbing garage
A man convicted of threatening an Essex filling station cashier with a kitchen knife during a robbery has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment at Chelmsford Crown Court.The sentence followed earlier conviction of David Brockett by a jury, who heard he had been living in an apartment next door to ...
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News
New seasons heralds ultra low fat snack
Quaker Snacks has introduced a new crispbread snack backed by a £10m marketing campaign.Quaker Seasons – a mini crispbread snack containing less than 10% fat – come in three flavours: cheese, onion & chives; salt & cracked black pepper; and Caribbean chicken.Quaker has spent more than four years and £25m ...
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NewsMastering Easter
Masterfoods plans to reinvigorate the filled egg category at Easter – as well as generate a “huge saes opportunity for the convenience sector” – with the launch of two new products from top confectionery brands Mars and Galaxy.The Mars filled egg and the Galaxy Chocolate Caramel Temptation (rrp 36p) come ...
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News
Stamp duty
Another complaint about the Royal Mail. As I’ve reported previously in this column, the margin on first class stamps may have gone up to 7%, but the reduction on second class stamps to 3% has really put some of you off. Tim Neal rang from West Coker Garage, near Yeovil ...
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News
Sainsbury picks Dione
Sainsbury is using a Dione solution for chip and pin implementation across its 550-store estate. As such, the Dione Xpress ‘Swipe & Park’ card readers and Xtreme pin pads are being installed at over 15,000 points of sale including self-checking lanes and petrol forecourts.Dione’s multi-lane chip and pin solution has ...
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News
Wrong data
Some information I passed on in the last issue about Data Protection wasn’t quite the full ticket. I pointed out a refinement to the Data Protection Act 1998 which excuses retailers from registering if they have static cameras which don’t particularly target anyone. David Cuckson, of Parkside Service Station in ...
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News
Cut queue growth
The advent of chip and pin might necessitate retailers to double the capacity of their connections if they don’t want to keep customers waiting.The news comes from Transaction Network Services (TNS), which warns of possible delays at checkouts, particularly at peak times. Alan Stephenson-Brown, sales director at TNS reckons that ...
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AnalysisSusie’s coup
Susie Hawkins hit the headlines last month when news travelled back from the NACS Convention in Las Vegas that she had fought off stiff competition from independent retailers in America and Australia to win the convenience store industry’s Global Scholarship. Women are a rare breed in the forecourt industry ...
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NewsCommunity spirits
Rural winner of the year 2004 Denis Lawrence has been in business for 25 years, and together with his niece Elaine and more recently wife Rita, has developed a sizeable portfolio. “We tend to develop a business – usually a convenience store – and then move on, selling the business ...