news
Double digit growth for Wiseman’s
Robert Wiseman Dairies has reported a huge 11.6% jump in sales volumes for the first quarter of its financial year. The East Kilbride-based firm said it had benefited from consolidation in its sector and continuing growth among its existing customers. The company has predicted lower like-for-like growth for the remainder of the year, but called its financial performance “satisfactory”.
Highland villagers to man petrol station
A community company is set to run a petrol station in the Highlands, saving villagers from making a 36 mile round trip to fill up their car.
After the previous owners stopped selling fuel, residents of Applecross had to make the lengthy journey, but now the community will run the facility after investing in two automatic pumps with funding from the Big Lottery Fund, the Scottish Rural Development Programme and the Applecross Trust.
Fake £1 coins on rise
Retailers have been warned to keep an eye out for fake £1 coins after the Royal Mint unveiled that nearly two million counterfeit £1 coins were returned in last financial year. The number has risen sharply in recent years and is now 23 times higher than it was six years ago. Tellingly, the Royal Mint estimates that one in every 36 £1 coins is fake.
Tell-tale signs are a poorly defined ribbed edge or an indistinct design of the Queen’s head.
FPB offers free facilities
The Forum of Private Business is providing all its paying members with complimentary Regus businessworld gold cards, which will give them free internet access, refreshments and professional administrative support.
4 l SCOTTISH LOCAL RETAILER l AUGUST 2010 SGF slams tobacco regs
The Scottish Grocers’ Federation has submitted its response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the regulations governing the proposed ban on the display of tobacco in shops. Consultation is now closed and
the Government will consider the evidence before publishing the next stage of the Bill.
SGF remains opposed to the ban and in its response calculated the cost of a ban under the current proposals as being far higher than suggested in the consultation and by Ministers. John Drummond SGF Chief Executive said: “Ministers have suggested the cost of a ban for a medium sized store would be around £320. We believe these costs have been severely underestimated. Discussions we have held with shop fitters, shows the likely costs of installing flaps over existing gantries will be at least £1,400. However, these costs would increase if finding a long term retrofit solution for existing gantries proves challenging due to the restrictive dimensions of the permitted display area. “There will also be additional on-going costs for retailers as a
result of a display ban due to increased transaction times. “Despite our opposition to the ban on the grounds that there is no compelling evidence that it would be effective, we will continue to engage to attempt to find a low cost solution. “We are also asking the Scottish
Government to reconsider implementation dates. Whilst we agree with staggered
implementation dates between large and small shops, the compliance dates of October 2011 for large stores and October 2013 for small stores is unrealistic, considering the alterations that will have to be made in-store.
“These regulations will require
a significant investment during a difficult trading climate and follow hard on the heels of the significant costs retailers are already absorbing following the implementation of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005. “For all retail business to comply with the regulations will be an operational and a financial burden. This burden will only be increased if the implementation timeframe is insufficient. We therefore recommend that the implementation dates should be extended to October 2012 for large stores and October 2014 for small stores.”
Camelot plans scuppered
National Lottery operator Camelot has had its bid to offer ancillary services derailed by the National Lottery Commission (NLC). Camelot plans to introduce services such as bill payments and mobile phone top ups, however the NLC has provisionally rejected
Camelot’s plans on the basis of the EU/competition law risks it raises. Saying in a statement that it was “minded” to refuse permission the Commission argued that Camelot’s “dominant” position gave it reason to believe offering such a range of services would break competition regulations.
The news is a blow to Camelot, which was hopeful of taking on PayPoint. In a statement, the company said: “We remain convinced that our detailed and carefully
considered plans should allow us to offer commercial services through National Lottery retailers. We are disappointed that the NLC has failed to reach a definitive decision – instead choosing to further extend the process, delaying the benefits to retailers and customers.” The Commission has invited and written representations to the proposals and plans to make a final ruling by 3rd September. ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “Communities rely on their local retailers being able to offer a wide range of services. I am not sure any parties will be satisfied by what is a weak conclusion of the NLC. We hope very much that a more decisive conclusion can be reached as soon as possible.”
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