All articles by Tracy West – Page 7
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News
Naturally does it for new food and drink launches
The craze for everything natural is confirmed by the latest review from the Mintel Global New Products Database, which has found that 23% of all food and drink lines launched last year had a ’natural’ claim. This was a 9% increase on 2007 figures. Claims ranged from ’all natural’ to ...
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NewsLeak practice
Forecourt owners need to be more proactive in their approach to their tanks and pipework to prevent problems from happening, according to Steve Watts, UK sales director at Torex Retail. "We can all be guilty of waiting for an event to happen before doing anything about it, but cleaning up ...
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NewsHatch a plan
Saint Valentine’s Day: chocolates - check; heart-shaped novelties - check; red roses - check. Mother’s Day: flowers - check; chocolates - check. Easter: eggs - check. If only it were as simple as that - make a list, buy the stock, display it and it sells itself. But with the ...
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NewsAll systems go
By having the right epos solution in place, you can increase your profits by at least 3% a year. So says Jamie Shipstone, sales and marketing director for YP Electronics. He explains: "By responding to accurate trading records, you will be able to control stock more professionally, save valuable management ...
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News
Sweet & sour
Toxic Waste, Atomic FireBlast and Gum Powder can all be found on the shelves of the Murco garage in the Willesborough suburb of Ashford, Kent, and manager, Roberto Di Duca, says he can’t get enough of them. Of course they are not as bad as their names suggest, but are ...
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NewsRoll with the changes
Gordon Gekko may have thought lunch was for wimps and dear old Del Boy might have agreed, but forecourt retailers don’t want to wimp out on their lunchtime offer because there’s just too much to lose. According to Mintel, UK consumers spent £27.5bn on eating out in 2005, and within ...
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NewsGrill seekers
The summer brings with it all sorts of sales opportunities. Hot days mean heavy demand for ice creams and cold drinks. Day trippers need to fill up their cars with fuel and their passengers with snacks, while holiday makers need to buy those last-minute items like batteries for the camera. ...
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News
Footie fever
According to the bookies, England is second favourite to win the World Cup, after Brazil. It would be great if they won but even if they don’t, you could win during this massive tournament. That’s because of the UK’s insatiable appetite for everything football. Up and down the country there ...
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News
Women’s work
The internet may have killed off teen title Smash Hits but other sectors of the fiercely competitive magazine market are still going strong. The latest ABC circulation figures, for July to December 2005, showed women’s weeklies riding high with sales up 7.4%. Big winners in terms of sales included Reveal ...
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News
Spring into action
On Valentine’s Day (February 14), while most romantics prefer to ‘say it with flowers’, chocolate is the second most popular gift. According to Giftrak data, Valentine’s sales increased by 9% in 2005, to reach £342m and average spend per gift was £25.42. For forecourt retailers wanting their piece of the ...
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News
Hot properties
If you’re thinking of selling your forecourt, now is definitely the time. The oil company rationalisation is over and there are fewer and fewer decent sites up for grabs. Unfortunately, if you are a buyer this means you’ll be paying more than ever before. Christie’s associate director corporate retail, Allen ...
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NewsBuncefield rebuild in doubt
Safety fears mean that the Buncefield oil terminal in Hemel Hempstead may never be rebuilt. That’s the view of both the Petrol Retailers’ Association (PRA) and the UK Petroleum Industry Association (UKPIA). PRA director Ray Holloway said: “It seems unlikely that Buncefield will ever be rebuilt as it was – ...
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Analysis
Time for pay at pump
There may still be teething problems, but now that the rollout of Chip & PIN is well under way, a seminar last month suggested that it was time for forecourts to fully explore pay-at-pump technology. The question was raised at a ‘Chip & PIN at the Pump’ seminar, organised by ...
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News
Let me entertain you
British consumers are spending more money than ever on entertainment – and not just on eating out or drinking down the pub. They’re shelling out to be entertained in their homes and cars. As such they’re demanding DVDs and CDs at an astonishing rate. Market forecasts estimate that 196 million ...
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News
Dinner money
The first ever ‘TV dinner’ went on sale in the United States in 1953. Costing just 98 cents, it comprised turkey with a cornbread dressing and gravy, sweet potato and peas. It was the brainwave of travelling salesman Gerry Thomas who had to come up with an idea to use ...
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NewsRetailers warned of Chip & PIN deadline
Retailers are being warned that Valentine’s Day 2006 is D-day for Chip & PIN. It marks the start of the ‘no PIN, no purchase’ clampdown. From February 14, shoppers must use their PIN number with their cards – if they don’t, their cards may be declined.
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News
Power play
Every year battery manufacturers seem to launch the ‘longest lasting battery ever’. To the uninitiated this might appear to be just some marketing ploy, but apparently the manufacturers really have to – to keep up with all the high-drain appliances that consumers love. Digital cameras and MP3 players gobble battery ...
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News
Computer logic
Technology develops at such a speed that it’s sometimes hard to keep up, but for a forecourt to operate seamlessly, it has to. A busy site can’t afford for its systems to fail so it needs the best equipment the operator can afford. Likewise operators need to embrace new security ...
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News
Praising the bar
Christmas is coming and with it the countless number of special chocolate lines – advent calendars, tree decorations, selection packs and mega-size tins to name but a few. However according to Andrea Taylor, trade relations manager at Masterfoods, forecourts shouldn’t get too carried away with seasonal lines: “You’ve got to ...
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NewsRise of the machines
Plastic may be convenient but sometimes only cash will do. So if your site has an ATM you can bet that many consumers will choose it – to fill up their cars and their wallets at the same time. There are around 55,000 ATMs in the UK. Most are linked ...