All Forecourt Trader articles in January 2013 – Page 4
-
News
Top Indies report increased sales over Christmas period
Businesses in Forecourt Trader’s Top 50 Indies have reported solid trading over the Christmas period.Nick Lloyd, managing director of Forecourt Trader of the Year winner, Symonds Forecourts, said business had been strong over the Christmas period despite torrential rain with double digit growth in its Budgens stores compared with the ...
-
News
Checkout champs
A new report from Palmer & Harvey reveals that petrol stations sell nearly twice as much chewing gum as standalone convenience stores. It’s not surprising really given the benefits of chewing gum such as giving you fresher breath and aiding concentration.Nathan Griffiths, trade marketing manager at Perfetti Van Melle (PVM), ...
-
News
Service Centre: Jac Roper on the New Year starting with problems with diesel tanks and cash machines
A second quote saves the day Happy New Year to all. Right, that’s enough joy; now back to the problems. Garry Gibson, head of operations at Cooper Bros in Wishaw, Lancashire, certainly had a time of it last year. Last summer a flashing alarm light indicated a problem with a ...
-
News
Genius system to save cash
It’s the Genius story you’ve all been waiting for a system that will save you money and take the ’heat’ out of your ’hot fuel’ problems. It’s called Genius ATC and is described by its UK supplier, TLM Technology, as a system whereby the "measured volume is automatically corrected ...
-
News
in brief
Drive-off initiativeNorth Wales Police and Conwy Community Safety Partnership have joined forces with the British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS) and independent retailers to introduce Forecourt Watch throughout Conwy county.Service station staff will take details of any vehicle which drives off without paying and will swiftly pass the information to police.Phillips ...
-
News
Merril Boulton: New year, new planet
Happy New Year to you I hope it all went well for you and your businesses. Many of you enjoyed reasonable trading over the Christmas period by the sounds of it (see News Extra on page 10), and seem pretty optimistic about your prospects for 2013. That’s the spirit no ...
-
NewsShop Doctor: Ward End Service Station, Birmingham
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Ward End Service Station is the unit where Booker recently introduced its new Premier Food & Fuel concept. The bespoke offer is now being rolled out. The trial received good publicity and I was keen to make a ’stealth check’ on the test store. FORECOURT: The BP ...
-
News
Even better biscuits
United Biscuits (UB) is adding more chocolate to its McVitie’s milk and dark chocolate digestives. The new, improved products are available from this month in 300g and 400g roll-wrap packs with rrps of £2.49 and £2.89 respectively. There is also a £1.85 300g price-marked pack.At the same time, UB is ...
-
News
Best customer service
Customer service at Red Tiles Service Station in Durham, which came out on top in the Best Customer Service specialist category, is all about personal attention and interaction with shoppers, says area manager Tony Middleton. The site is located on the outskirts of Durham close to a couple of villages ...
-
News
Kay picks up second award
Kay Group has celebrated 40 years in business for its chief executive, Ken Kay, by picking up its second award in two months.In September, the Blackburn-based group’s Formby outlet won Forecourt Trader’s award for the Best Northern Site Over 2.5 mlpa, and it has now added the Service Station of ...
-
News
Consumers vote again for their Chunky Champion
Choose a Chunky Champion is the latest activity for Kit Kat Chunky. It follows last year’s successful campaign, which was the biggest confectionery singles event ever for Nestlé, with over 600,000 votes cast on Facebook, 11 million bars sold and 200,000 new consumers entering the category (Kantar Worldpanel data).This time ...
-
News
Day in the Life: Looking after the locals is key for Louise Hammond
My day begins with the earth moving for me. Sadly, as I live near a railway line that just means the 6.40am train is passing by. At least it gets me out of bed in time to pick up my dog, Billy, from where he’ll be sitting by the treat ...
-
News
Intake adds two new sites
Intake Developments has acquired two new sites, taking its total of forecourts to eight, as well as one standalone convenience store.The Sheffield-based company has bought sites at Breton near Barnsley, and at Stubley, near Dronfield, which is midway between Chesterfield and Sheffield.Intake director Fiona Campbell said: "We are just working ...
-
News
Access covers customised for forecourt applications
A new generation of stronger access covers has been launched for the forecourt sector by composite specialists SSC.The company has partnered with John Newton, designer of the petroleum market-leading Fiberlite composite cover 25 years ago, to develop and launch a new range of covers for use on petrol forecourts.SSC said ...
-
News
M5 motorway development gets go ahead
The development of a £40m service station on the M5 motorway at Brookthorpe in Gloucestershire has moved a step closer following approval of revised plansfor the scheme.Stroud District Council’s Development Control Committee has given the go ahead for the alterations to the original proposals, including modifications to the design of ...
-
News
800 indies will be wiped out by 2017 warns PRA
Eight hundred independent forecourt sites will be wiped out by new supermarket forecourts by 2017 unless the government takes action, the Petrol Retailers’ Association has warned.PRA chairman Brian Madderson said: "This is an absolute disaster for independents, unless the government does something to curb the expansion of the supermarkets."The PRA ...
-
News
One in three motorists prepared to spend more on a ’green’ car, says Ford
One in three Europeans would spend more to buy an environmentally friendly car even though 71 per cent say they have reduced overall spending as a result of the economic recession, a Ford Motor Company-sponsored poll shows.The survey also shows 53 per cent consider climate change to be the world’s ...
-
News
Firms should plan for bad weather to mitigate future problems, warns the Forum
A not-for-profit business support group has said small firms should start planning now for harsh winter weather to avoid being caught out by sudden cold snaps – such as those forecast for the next few weeks.The Forum says SMEs can be particularly vulnerable to the impact of freak weather and ...
-
News
Discrepancy between claimed and actual mpg costing motorists £4.45bn a year in extra fuel, claims consumer champion
Figures submitted to consumer champion honestjohn.co.uk reveal a discrepancy between official fuel economy ratings and real performance is costing drivers £4.45billion per year. Damning research by consumer motoring website HonestJohn.co.uk today reveals that heavily overstated official fuel figures cost UK drivers up to £4.45 billion per year collectively. The website ...