All Forecourt Trader articles in January 2005
View all stories from this issue.
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News
A streamlined scam?
It will be interesting to hear if anybody else out there has had an experience similar to Adrian Moore, who runs Grizebeck Filling Station at Grizebeck in Cumbria. He suspected a scam when he got a phone call from someone purporting to be from an investigation unit at Streamline asking ...
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NewsThe professionals
Orbit Professional is being joined by Orbit Professional White, a sugar-free pellet chewing gum that aims to reduce tooth stains and includes Bi-White to keep teeth naturally white.The gum has been launched in response to consumer research that identified secondary needs from mouth freshening product – in this case teeth ...
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News
Leader of the packs
The UK’s number one cigarette brand, Lambert & Butler, is currently available in special edition celebration packs designed to create better stand-out on shelf. The packs celebrate the silver anniversary of L&B King Size’s launch as well as its fifth anniversary at the top of the cigarette chart.The design is ...
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News
Istobel jets into UK market
Istobal, the Spanish carwash manufacturer, has taken a controlling interest in Jet Technics in a bid to bring better service to the UK.Jet Technics managing director Alan Bennett explains: “Our remit is to sort out any problems forecourts have with Istobal car washes whatever they are. We’re here to look ...
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News
Mo’gas: An irreverent view from the network
ON THE FACE OF IT we only have ourselves to blame. It’s not as if we hadn’t been warned – this was no last-minute surprise. All credit to BP for being the only oiler (as far as I am aware – aggrieved parties please send your emails to Merril!) to ...
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News
Getting to grips
Britvic is investing £30m in its Robinsons squash brand. There are new bottle designs for High Juice and Barley Water plus a new High Juice variety – blood orange. The bottles now feature a dual grip function making it easier to get hold of them.Robinsons is the number eight grocery ...
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News
A token gesture
Don’t you wonder where they go? Like odd socks, like teaspoons, like the half dozen biros you bought last week, air and water tokens just gradually disappear into thin air, don’t they? I am a bit wiser having discussed this mystery with National Car Wash. Director David Henshaw told me: ...
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News
Forecourts targeted to sell mortgages
A new mortgage services company is giving forecourt retailers the chance to earn money by marketing financial solutions to its customers.Bournemouth-based Ethical Mortgage Solutions (EMS) is recruiting local store/petrol forecourt owners to act as ‘introducers’ to new customers to market a ‘fees free’ remortgage/debt consolidation service.EMS director Steve Royal said ...
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NewsLaunch of world’s first motorbike wash
THI UK has launched the first machine in the world to wash motorbikes. The patented Motorbike-Wash with water reclaim system – retailing at under £20,000 – is self-contained and washes one motorbike in just a few minutes. The unit needs to be mounted to a flat surface and has a ...
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News
Under fire
Tobacco retailers have faced some pretty tough trading conditions over the past few years. The impact of smuggling, reduced margins due to increased taxation, and the constant fear of inadvertently falling foul of the law through underage sales must leave some forecourt operators wondering why they bother with the category. ...
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NewsMobil unveils ESP
ExxonMobil has unveiled its new Emission System Protection (ESP) engine oil technology. Mobil 1 (ESP Formula 5W-30) has been expertly engineered to help prolong the life of emission reduction systems while maintaining the previous high performance benefits of Mobil 1.The new ESP technology was principally developed for diesel engines but ...
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News
SMS marketing made easy with Textalert.com
Textalert.com has launched an SMS marketing solution for small and medium-sized businesses. Retailers firstly need their customers’ mobile phone numbers. They then log onto www.textalert.com, enter a message, input their customers’ numbers into an online address book and click the send button.The service operates on a pre-paid credits system and ...
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News
Pensioner injured in drive-off
An 82-year-old filling station owner was rushed to hospital after trying to tackle two vehicles that drove off without paying.Fred Wood of Wood’s Garage, Clipstone, Nottinghamshire, was hit by a Ford Fiesta driven by a teenager. Another Fiesta, again driven by a teenager, had driven onto the forecourt at the ...
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News
Diary of a rebuild
With fuel margins as tight as ever, retailers are looking to other means of generating revenue – and that is often through developing the forecourt shop into a fully-fledged convenience store. But forecourt shops have traditionally been nothing more than a small kiosk so if space allows, a knockdown rebuild ...
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News
Dealing direct
I do hope this isn’t opening a can of worms, but is anyone else having problems getting their money back from Our Price? James Robertson, who runs JR’s Filling Station in Fife, sent back 15 DVDs to Our Price in September and was promised his money (£112.50) back. He has ...
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News
Five a day made easy
New Fruit Dippers from Organix have been launched as an easy way to add a portion of fruit to children’s lunchboxes. Dippers comprise 100% fruit puree and dipping biscuits. Rrp is £1.99 for a pack of three.0800 393511
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NewsCrunch time for UB
United Biscuits (UB) has ditched its McV brand and is reverting back to the McVitie’s name with an £8m relaunch campaign. The new brand identity is launched this month and UB reckons it will help both simplify the biscuit fixture and deliver better on-shelf impact.The company has identified a £25m ...
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News
Heads up for Walkers crisps
Walkers Potato Heads are new crinkly crunchy crisps cooked in high oleic sunflower oil which means they have 70% less saturated fat than standard Walkers crisps. They also contain no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives.They are very much aimed at kids and as such come in animated-style packs featuring Potato ...
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News
A cracking start
It’s early January and that means just one thing in the confectionery world – the annual return of Cadbury Creme Eggs.The eggs boast being the number one best selling confectionery line in the Spring, with sales of 180 million eggs in just three months. As such Cadbury Trebor Bassett has ...
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NewsWake up and smell the coffee
The end of the old year and start of the new one is a time for taking stock of where we are, and making plans for where we’d like to be in 12 months time – and making the resolutions that should enable us to get there. This column will ...