All Latest News articles – Page 439
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NewsTexaco trials new group loyalty card
Texaco is trialling a new group loyalty card at 150 sites. The We.O.U card allows holders to pool their points (Texaco stars) to benefit local schools.This means a group of customers can sign up for a card with one central account so a substantial fund can be built up quickly. ...
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’Drive-offs’ status clarified
The British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS) has won its ten-month campaign to change unpopular Home Office counting rules on drive-offs.New guidelines introduced in April 2005 had appeared to down-grade the crime status of ’making off without payment’ offences - which cost the industry more than £20m every year.However, the Home ...
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grocery digest
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is expected to officially announce shortly that the grocery market is to be referred to the Competition Commission for investigation. More than 1,000 submissions have reportedly been received by the OFT since its draft ruling in March saying it was ’minded’ to refer the ...
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NewsRetailers fuming over Shell stance
As the pound sign begins to break out on forecourts around the country, the running sore over Shell’s long-standing ’cut-price’ strategy is also adding to the tension felt by retailers.With price poles once again being the focus of the national media, retailers believe Shell’s cavalier approach to pricing is unnecessarily ...
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NewsOff licence key to Penhallow success
A switch to Spar, a refurbishment and the introduction of an off licence have led to a 20% increase in shop trade for a forecourt business in Newquay.Penhallow Filling Station was built more than 50 years ago by Garfield Hawkey. It was taken over by his daughter Elizabeth and is ...
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Results of this month’s online poll:
Will you donate to the ACS fighting fund to challenge the march of the supermarkets?YES 50%NO 50%The ACS has asked independent retailers to help fund its ongoing campaign for a fairer market. Our poll suggests the market is equally split, with half unable or unwilling to support them.
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ACS chief to retire
David Rae is to retire as chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores by the end of 2006, after five years at the helm. The search for a replacement will begin following a board meeting on 16 May.Rae has recently steered ACS to success in winning an interim OFT ...
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NewsGet your awards entries in by June 9, 2006
The hunt is on for the next recipient of the industry’s most prestigious award - Forecourt Trader of the Year 2006. The awards are now 10 years old and continue to recognise the hard work and skills of petrol retailers nationwide, highlighting those who have displayed high standards of professionalism ...
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Retailers not ready for new ’age Act’
Just two per cent of retailers are ready for the new legislation that will outlaw age discrimination, according to a study by the Age Partnership Group.The new legislation will come into force on October 1, 2006 and the main changes likely to affect retailers are around the issue of retirement.A ...
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Boozy man attempts pump fire
A man who tried to set fire to a petrol pump with a cigarette lighter has been jailed for three years.Leicester Crown Court heard that Sean Rutherford, aged 30, had drunk 13 litres of cider and six rums before the incident at the Tesco service station, in the city’s Fosse ...
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In brief
The Energy Institute’s latest figures confirm that the number of operational forecourts dropped to 9,764 by the end of 2005 - a loss of 587 sites over the year. The UK Retail Marketing Survey 2006 also reveals that petrol sales declined by 2.9% last year. Diesel sales showed strong growth, ...
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NewsDrought threat to car wash business
The impending drought could spell a difficult summer for sites with car wash facilities. Hose pipe bans are now in force over most of the south east and some water companies have already applied for further restrictions, which could put a halt to what is a valuable profit-driver.An Environment Agency ...
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NewsSims signs off with praise for top indies
Forecourt retailers should club together to extract greater value from their supply deals, urged Graham Sims, BP’s erstwhile UK retail director in a colourful and rousing speech at the inaugural ’Top 50 Indies’ dinner held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Birmingham last month.Describing the 160 or so independents gathered ...
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NewsUnited we stand, says Wilson
A call to all independent retailers to stand together and fight the march of the supermarkets was made by Mark Wilson (pictured) group operations manager at the Fraser Group, in a Forecourt Live! lunchtime session at the IFFE show."We have to draw a line in the sand and come together. ...
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Future of Petrol Stations
The Henry Stewart Conference ’The Future of Petrol Stations’ on Friday 31 March will address issues in ensuring survival and profitability for forecourt owners and strategies for cashing in on alternative use site values. The conference will also discuss what is happening in the market by alluding to real world ...
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NewsPeacock heads the Top 50 Indies listing
Graham Peacock, managing director of the Malthurst Group, heads the first listing of the Top 50 independent fuel retailers, which has been launched this month in a commemorative supplement enclosed with this issue of Forecourt Trader. A Top Indies Dinner is also being held at the Crowne Plaza, NEC, Birmingham, ...
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NewsACS calls for help with fighting fund
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has warned that independent fuel retailers will need to raise their game to survive as it launches a fighting fund to stave off the march of the supermarkets. With the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) expected to publish an interim verdict on whether or ...
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NewsForecourts need to boost grocery image
Twice as many shoppers now regularly use forecourts compared to two years ago, according to a new report from the Institute of Grocery Distribution’s shopper research programme. Entitled ’Forecourt Shoppers’, the research found that 15% of shoppers regularly use forecourts today, up from 7% in 2004. However, usage figures vary ...
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In brief
Roy Roley, Jet’s brand communications manager, died suddenly on February 26, just two days before he was due to retire from the company and pursue other interests both within and beyond the fuel industry. Patrick Hudson, Jet’s dealer business manager, said: "All of us at Jet are shocked and deeply ...