All Forecourt Trader articles in October 2011
View all stories from this issue.
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News
UK reluctance for new payment methods
Consumers in the UK/Ireland, Germany and Australia show far less enthusiasm for new payment technologies, such as contactless and mobile, than those in the Middle East and Poland, according to research commissioned by First Data Corporation, a leading specialist electronic commerce and payment processing. Traditional payment methods (cash, debit card, ...
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News
Fuel laundering costs Ireland 150m Euros a year
Retail Ireland, the IBEC group that represents the retail sector, has called for tax reform and a better resourced Garda and Revenue response to illegal diesel laundering.In a submission to government, the group said the sale of cheap, illegally laundered diesel is seriously damaging the public finances, funding criminality, harming ...
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News
Shoppers want more grocery discount stores, reveals IGD research
New shopper research from IGD shows the number of shoppers claiming to go to discount stores like Lidl and Aldi has increased over the past year, and is set to increase further. Nearly half (46%) of shoppers claim they would use food discount stores more in the future, if ...
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News
UKPIA welcomes ECC’s recommendations on compulsory oil stocks
UKPIA welcomes the Energy and Climate Change Committee’s recommendations on oil refining and compulsory oil stocks. UKPIA, the trade association representing the main oil refining and marketing companies in the UK, welcomes the conclusions on oil refining and compulsory oil stocks in the Energy and Climate Change Committee’s report ‘UK ...
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News
Tight urea market drives AdBlue increase
Air1, Yara International’s AdBlue brand across Europe, announces a price increase for its AdBlue, effective from November 1, 2011. The increase is due to the strong rise in prices for urea, the main raw material in the production of AdBlue. International urea prices have climbed significantly over the summer ...
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News
Energy company targets forecourt canopies for solar ’RentaRoof’ scheme
Independent forecourt retailers in parts of the UK are being encouraged to reduce their costs by signing up to a free solarPV electricity scheme which uses their canopies and shop roofs.
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News
ACS challenges deputy PM to delivery on deregulation agenda
At a meeting of small businesses with Nick Clegg this morning, ACS Chief Executive James Lowman called on the Deputy Prime Minister to extend the moratorium on new employment legislation to more businesses, and to reduce burdens from local government and enforcement practices.In his speech, the Deputy Prime Minister proposed ...
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News
Harvest Energy signs eight sites with WJ King
Harvest Energy has secured a five year motor fuel supply and branding agreement with WJ King (Garages) Ltd, which has eight forecourts stretching across South East London and North West Kent.Each of the sites is being rebranded with Harvest Energy’s distinctive white, blue and green livery. The agreement means that ...
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NewsCooke Fuels develops new forecourt brand
A new fuel brand has appeared on a Lancashire petrol forecourt, and is likely to appear on another 10 sites next year.At a time when many of the major national names are pulling back from the petrol station business, Padiham family-owned business, Cooke Fuels, is stepping in to develop a ...
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News
High fuel prices will lead to increase in unmanned sites across Europe
A decline in petrol and diesel sales coupled with the desire to reduce costs is forcing Europe’s fuel retailers to convert service stations to unmanned sites, finds Verdict, part of the Datamonitor group. By 2013, one in ten service stations across Europe won’t have any staff at the forecourt leaving ...
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News
Cancel 2012 fuel duty hikes, demands RMIP chairman
The Government was today warned about the serious consequences of their proposed Duty increases by Brian Madderson, RMI Petrol chairman. In his letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he detailed concerns for the independent petrol retailing industry ahead of the Autumn Statement. Although the previous Government’s ’escalator’ will be ...
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News
Greggs to trial motorway service outlets
Greggs has agreed a trial with motorway service provider Moto to open bakery shops in motorway service locations.The trial is being undertaken in two Moto services and will be operated under a franchise agreement. The first of these will be in Lymm, Cheshire, planned to open in December.This will enable ...
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News
Online grocery retailing will double in value by 2016, says IGD
Latest research by food and grocery analyst IGD reveals that sales in online grocery retailing are set to hit £11.2bn in 2016, almost twice the estimated value for 2011 of £5.9bn. At the end of this year, the online grocery market will account for 3.8% of total grocery spend in ...
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News
FWD says Asda’s irresponsible pricing will boost illicit trade in beer
Independent retailers must avoid the temptation to buy illegal stocks of beer to compete with supermarkets’ irresponsible promotions, says the Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD). Asda’s £11 deal on Budweiser 24x300ml packs means the supermarket is selling to the consumer at less than the price that legitimate wholesalers can offer to convenience stores and off licences, and FWD believes this will boost the illicit trade in beer on which UK duty has not been paid. FWD chief executive James Bielby, said: “Asda’s ploy to undercut its competitors with this irresponsible promotion not only flies in the face of the Government’s attempts to prevent supermarkets deep-discounting alcohol, it also puts enormous pressure on thousands of independent stores across the country to compete, and we are concerned that some will turn to the growing ‘grey’ market to source cheaper stock.” Recent Government figures reveal that duty fraud on beer rose 45% to £800m in lost tax revenue in 2009-10. “Supermarkets’ tactic of selling beer at less than production costs plus duty and VAT encourages desperate shop owners to be less scrupulous about who they buy their stock from,” said Bielby. “We urge retailers to stick with their tried and trusted wholesalers, and we ask the Government to urgently put a stop to these irresponsible promotions which are a gift to smugglers and duty fraudsters.” The FWD is asking the Government to introduce duty stamps for beer products to disrupt the criminal distribution chain.
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News
Sales boost follows Harvest Energy re-brand
Ian and Sue Cruickshank, owners of the recently rebranded Ponton Main Service Station on the A1, Great North Road, at Grantham, have reported an 80 per cent increase in fuel sales since the site received its Harvest Energy livery.The family-owned business has operated on the site since 1973, the first ...
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News
High-profile indie Jonathan James joins HIM
HIM research & consulting has appointed former Forecourt Trader of the Year Jonathan James as associate consultant with immediate effect.Jonathan, who runs stores under both the Budgens and Spar fascias, and is currently in the process of selling two of his four forecourts in the Cambridgeshire area, has been employed ...
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News
Madderson puts pricing facts to Evening Standard
Brian Madderson is continuing the RMI Petrol’s quest to better inform motorists about crude oil and fuel prices following an article in the business section of the Evening Standard yesterday.The story, written by Anthony Hilton, claimed that “oil price has already fallen a long way – down 33% since May ...
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News
RMI builds on presence in Northern Ireland
RMI Petrol is planning a return to Northern Ireland in Spring 2012 following its first regional forum in the region for at least 15 years.Held at the end of September in Belfast, the meeting was attended by around 45 fuel distributors, retailers, product and service suppliers, media and HM Revenue ...
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News
Britain to become a nation of ‘fuel deserts’, says P&H report
Parts of Britain are in danger of becoming ‘fuel deserts’ as the number of petrol stations hits a new low, new research from Palmer & Harvey has warned.The Palmer and Harvey Forecourt Report reveals that while there are currently 31 million cars on the road, Britain has fewer than half ...
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News
shop talk
Are you scared about missing out on sales this Halloween? You shouldn’t be because even if you haven’t room for a full-blown spooky display, you’ll probably have space for a few creepy lines.Talking of creepy, Halloween is one of those occasions that’s crept us on us. It used to be ...