All Forecourt Trader articles in September 2007
View all stories from this issue.
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NewsThe Frasers are winners again
Robert and Hugh Fraser took the top award at the glittering Forecourt Trader of the Year 2007 ceremony held at the London Hilton on September 20. Both having been individual winners of the award – Robert in 1997 and Hugh in 1998 – this is the first time in the ...
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Spar celebrates 50 years supporting local retailers
Spar celebrated 50 years since the opening of its first store in the UK with a huge gathering at a top London venue, where more than 2,000 Spar retailers, central office personnel and industry leaders came together to mark the significant occasion in style. The gala dinner, at which the ...
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PRA calls for delay in duty rise
The Government should postpone the fuel duty increase scheduled for October 1, or risk putting undue financial strain on motorists and petrol retailers alike, according to Ray Holloway, director of the RMI Petrol Retailers Association (PRA). The upcoming two-pence-per-litre increase was announced in March as part of the Budget, but ...
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BP secures new five-year deal with Moto
BP has signed a new five year fuel supply deal with the UK’s largest motorway operator, Moto. The deal secures volume on 18 existing BP-branded motorway locations, where BP and Moto have been in partnership for the past 10 years, but a further 17 Moto sites, currently supplied by alternative ...
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Booze ban threat for Scottish forecourts
Forecourt operators in Scotland may be banned from selling alcohol under new laws. Licensing chiefs in Glasgow have outlined plans to refuse a petrol station permission to sell alcohol unless it can prove it is the main source or petrol or groceries in the local area. The city’s licensing board is the first in Scotland to put forward such plans to remove booze from forecourt stores. The draft policy states that if the licensing board refuses an application, the business will not be able to sell alcohol after September 1, 2009. The document adds that when the Licensing Board is considering licences at forecourts, it would, as a matter of general policy, “take the view that no community in Glasgow is reliant on such premises as a principal source of petrol or derv, or groceries, given the widespread provision of such facilities throughout the city”. But it adds that the individual circumstances of each case will be taken into account when making such a decision. The 2005 Licensing Act allows all boards across the country to introduce the measure. And there are fears that if the move goes ahead in Glasgow, other areas could follow suit. Opponents claim that the proposal victimises retailers and could have a serious impact on the industry. Ray Holloway, director of the Petrol Retailers’ Association (PRA), said: “It’s outrageously discriminatory against the forecourt industry. “It’s a crazy idea because these licences were originally granted on the criteria known to the licensing authorities. “We’ve been having an increasing number of enquiries from members in Scotland over this issue. I’ve spoken to the alcohol licensing specialist in Scotland and they do intend to address this criteria which excludes garages from having licences.” The proposal means the existing criteria - that a garage cannot get an alcohol licence unless it can show that fuel is not the biggest part of its business - would no longer be accepted. Holloway points out that the plans mean supermarkets with a forecourt business could also be banned from having a licence. The draft policy statement is currently out for consultation. “It does seem this is a threat to the industry, and it means we’ll probably have to launch a campaign,” said Holloway. “We intend to challenge it.”
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Fairbanks teams up with Murco
Fairbanks is to provide fuel management services to some of Murco’s UK retail outlets.The company will handle Murco’s wetstock management, including their SIR (Statistical Inventory Reconciliation) service and their new generation real time “ibank” offering.It will concentrate on early leak detection and reducing the instances of over-dispensing meters.All parts of ...
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DHL wins BP distribution deal
DHL has signed a multi-million pound retail deal with BP.The contract means DHL will deliver 30 million cases of fresh chill, ambient and secure products such as milk, soft drinks and sandwiches to 350 UK retail forecourts each year. The company will use double deck trailers for transporting goods between ...
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ACS warns tobacco licensing will lead to more red tape
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has slammed calls to license tobacco products.ACS chief executive James Lowman said the proposal by the British Medical Association’s (BMA) Scottish Council to introduce the system would result in more red tape.“Introducing a positive licensing system for tobacco would be a disproportionate and costly ...
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Waste not want not
Retailers are being encouraged to check out a website offering advice on dealing with waste.Businesses can get the latest tips and information on issues such as preventing and dealing with fly-tipping and how to reduce the amount of waste generated.There is also advice from regulators like the Environment Agency on ...
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Tackle this
Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) is giving rugby fans the chance to win tickets to the 2007 Rugby World Cup.The promotion is running on specially-marked 500ml bottles of Powerade.Consumers can enter by texting a code on the back of the labels on 500ml promotion-marked single bottles of Powerade - it is ...
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Sudden sympathy
Suddenly there seems to be a lot of sympathy for the plight of the poor old service station. Site numbers have been tumbling for years, so it’s ironic that when the rate of closure seems actually to be slowing, there’s quite a lot of media fuss about it.Perhaps it was ...
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Wholesome snacks
Walkers is launching Sunbites, its first ever wholegrain snack. Made with whole wheat, whole oats and whole corn, they contain 30% less fat than regular crisps.They also have no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.The snacks have been launched as a tasty way for consumers to get more wholegrain into their ...
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Smoother smokes
Rizla Smooth is the latest addition to Imperial Tobacco’s line-up of RYO papers, which will now have nine variants.The distinguishing feature of ’Smooth’ is that the papers are perforated with thousands of tiny holes to enhance air flow through the tobacco. They are designed to give a smoother taste, and ...
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Sign of the times
Sign installation and maintenance company Xmo Strata has been made the exclusive UK agent for a new-generation sign refurbishment system.Xmo Strata - which claims to have the most highly trained sign installation and maintenance engineers working on petrol forecourts nationwide - has launched the Vicom HQ system, which restores the ...
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Say it with sweets
If you need an eye-catching promotion this autumn, try new customised Love Hearts.Companies can choose to put any message on the wrappers that fit around the traditional Love Hearts sweets.Each case contains about 2,500 rolls of the seven tablet Love Hearts.The personalised labels can include full colour artwork, logo and ...
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TyreSafe puts the pressure on safety
Tyre Safe is running a tyre safety awareness campaign throughout October. It was originally planned as a week-long event but following massive interest and support from tyre retailers and manufacturers, it was decided to extend it to a whole month.Tyre Safety Month, the first national tyre safety industry initiative ...
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Paying a PREMIUM
The recent floods will have resulted in retailers across the country frantically checking the finer details of their insurance policies.It is when such disasters strike that we all realise how important it is to have the correct cover. Especially when it can make or break a business.But with the sector ...
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Results of this month’s online poll:
As parts of the country mop up after the floods, do you believe you are adequately covered for damage to property and loss of business following such a disaster?YES43%YES36%NOT SURE21%A lot of you don’t know if your insurance policy would cover you in the event of another flooding disaster. Better ...
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NewsLinda joins the team
Meet Linda Harrison - our new features editor who joins from the Daily Star.