All Forecourt Trader articles in February 2004
View all stories from this issue.
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News
Switch is on right track for rebrand
With 18 months to go before the Switch debit card disappears, 380,000 retailers have already signed up to accept the replacement debit brand Maestro.The target is for the remaining 370,000 Switch-accepting outlets to upgrade during 2004, according to S2 Card Services, the independent company that administers the debit card scheme.Thirteen ...
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News
The price is right
IN the 21st century it seems we can access most things via the internet – whether it’s buying groceries or houses; seeing what the weather’s like in a holiday resort via a webcam; or simply communicating with the rest of the world via email, chatrooms and suchlike. So it seems ...
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News
Police support sites with self-reporting
A self-reporting process for drive-offs established in Northampton is being extended to other parts of country this month.Launched by Northampton Police in May last year, the scheme is now being adopted by police and retailers in Coventry. Kings Heath Police in Birmingham, and police in Lancashire and Staffordshire are also ...
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News
New year, new shades
FosterGrant has unveiled its 2004 collection of sunglasses with price-points from £7.99 to £30.There are more than 100 sunglasses in the range – over half of which are new for this year. FosterGrant has also developed a display stand with a smaller footprint.01782 577055
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News
Making your own luck
The world divides into the reactive and the proactive. Sebastian Nonis, who runs Forfar Road Service Station in Dundee, is not the sort to take things lying down. I know this because I have a file This Thick on my desk illustrating the lengths that he will go to promote ...
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News
Under lock and key
the tragic murder of Cornish operators, Graham and Carol Fisher, last November provided a stark reminder of how vulnerable to crime the forecourt sector can be. The high value of the petrol, along with their often isolated locations, can leave forecourts open to violent crimes and drive-offs. And with the ...
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News
The silver lining is Jet
Still on the above subject, January comes and I get a calendar through the post. It features a fine picture of Forfar Service Station, brightly branded Jet and with the message that the business is sponsoring the Dundee Tigers under 16s ice hockey team. It had all happened very fast. ...
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News
Mo’gas: An irreverent view from the network
THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT 2003 saw the start of the biggest change in ownership of Britain’s forecourts to have been seen in decades. After years of seeing the oilers increase their share of non-hyper sites, the combination of wholesale site closures and disposals should herald the re-birth of the ...
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News
Insolvency
From time to time we have pointed out that those of you running your businesses as directors of limited companies have certain legal obligations that are more onerous than those that would apply to sole traders and partnerships. Perhaps nowhere does this become more important than in the event of ...
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News
KP raises its game
An aggressive assault on the snacks category in 2004 has been planned by the United Biscuits Group, which is raising its marketing spend for the year by 30 per cent to £44 million – its biggest-ever investment.The programme kicks off with major initiatives on two brands within the KP Snacks ...
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News
Safety first at Total site
Management at Total have praised the quick actions of staff when a car burst into flames. The incident happened at the Narborough Road, Leicester, outlet after the vehicle was left parked next to pumps. The engine suddenly burst into flames and thick smoke began to pour from the car.Staff immediately ...
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News
Lip-smacking variant from Lever Faberge
Lever Fabergé has launched an aloe vera variant of its Vaseline Lip Therapy lip salve. Packaged in a 20g tin, Vaseline Lip Therapy Aloe Vera has a rrp of 99p. The new variant will be supported by a nationwide ‘Love your lips’ consumer PR campaign. Adam Juniper, Vaseline Intensive Care ...
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News
Esso reigns in the Pricewatch tiger
Esso is bringing its long-running Pricewatch campaign to an end next month. Launched as a trial in August 1995 and rolled out nationally in January of the following year, the promotion caused chaos and outrage in the industry, sparking intense price wars as the major oil companies battled it out ...
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News
Esso reigns in the Pricewatch tiger
Esso is bringing its long-running Pricewatch campaign to an end next month. Launched as a trial in August 1995 and rolled out nationally in January of the following year, the promotion caused chaos and outrage in the industry, sparking intense price wars as the major oil companies battled it out ...
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News
Hendersons roll out epos-combi
Northern Ireland-based Spar wholesaler John Henderson is rolling out a new retail solution to its forecourt c-stores. Henderson, established more than 100 years ago, owns the franchise for Spar, VIVO and VG in Northern Ireland, providing a full service to almost 300 Spar and 170 VG /VIVO stores. Some 150 ...
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Analysis
End of an era
It was back in 1995 – August 21 to be precise – that Esso launched trials of its new Pricewatch campaign in Tyne Tees and Central Scotland. It caused an absolute storm, sparking price wars and retail hardship the like of which had never been seen before, with its promise ...
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News
ServEquip wins US deal
ServEquip has been appointed as the sole UK distributor for Star Holman, the American manufacturer of professional catering equipment.The Star Holman cooking range, which includes sandwich and panini grills and Miniveyor, Proveyor and Ultra Max gas or electric impingement ovens, will complement ServEquip’s existing portfolio of equipment from Henny Penny, ...
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News
Debt risk toll of top companies
Encouraged by low interest rates and the need to gain a competitive edge, 26 per cent of the top 135 UK fuels companies have spent the past three years gradually increasing their levels of debt, according to the latest Plimsoll Portfolio Analysis.It claims that 35 of the top 135 companies ...
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News
Lighting up with colour
Swedish Match has launched a range of mini lights under the Cricket brand.Cricket-2-Tone lighters come in five bright colours – lime, pink, blue, orange and purple – and feature a fixed flame length for safety.The lighters are available in trays of 25. Rrp is 60p.01494 533300
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News
Cold front
If one word has become synonymous with successful food retailing today it’s convenience. Witness the major grocery multiples. A walk down any high street reveals the importance they now place on the channel, as they snaffle up convenience outlets and convert an increasing proportion of their estates to the c-store ...