Retail Plugging into a new trend Retail Therapy
By Peter Hardingham General Manager, The Octagon Centre, Burton
Electric vehicles and Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points are subjects which have filled many column inches in national papers and journals in recent times with the slowness of the spread of plug- in electric vehicle use, often blamed on the poor availability and accessibility of a fit for purpose network of EV charging points. At the Octagon I have wanted to
introduce EV charging points for some time and first looked at this subject in 2011, but at that time the costs involved were prohibitive and the expected demand too weak to proceed. However, wind forward six
years and we now have two points installed by POD POINT for a fraction of the cost quoted by suppliers back in 2011 – and demand has surpassed my initial expectations. Our EV charging points plug -
please excuse the pun - a local coverage gap in the ‘Zapp’ map used by EV owners to identify the locations of these charging points. Use of the points is free for the
first two hours and the average charge time has been around 1.5 hours. Normal car park parking tariffs apply. In the first 10 weeks of operation we had 127 uses of our
points which is almost two per day – above my aim of one charge per day. While electric vehicles still only
represent 0.4% of all cars, their numbers doubled from January 2016 to September 2017 with 112,398 on our roads at that time (Source: DVLA) and with many new models entering the market these numbers can only be expected to grow dramatically - and with it demand for our EV charging points. And, as the first location in central
Burton to install these charging points, we also gained the benefit of the PR for being ‘first’ and boosted our environmental credentials.
Sector Focus
Raising a glass to expansion
Loki Wines – winner of the Chamber’s Greater Birmingham Business of the Year in 2017 – has opened a new outlet in Edgbaston. The new wine shop and deli
has opened its doors on Greenfield Crescent. Loki’s expansion comes
following the success of its flagship premises at Great Western Arcade in Birmingham city centre. Founder Phil Innes said:
“The new venue is much larger than our first bar in Great Western Arcade, so as well as stocking over 400 different bottles or wine, we will also be selling craft beer on draught and by the bottle and introducing wider beverages, including a specially curated Gin menu by the Gintleman Carl Hawkins. We wanted to make this one of the most interesting drinks ranges in Birmingham. “Edgbaston has some great
businesses on the doorstep and is surrounded by beautiful homes and our ranges will go down well.”
Fownd passionately believes the customer comes first. This belief is built into everything we do. We understand that our service is about you and the value we deliver to your business.
Our customers benefit from the order we bring to a hectic industry. Simple processes geared to business-to-business needs that don’t get in the way of delivering true value.
Our experienced staff will work on behalf of the customer and defend their interests where necessary.
Borders don’t stop us! If a client needs a vehicle when travelling to airports overseas, Fownd are there too.
Account clients have access to their fleet data 24/7 via our unique Fownd on Demand service. It’s built with the latest technology and is fully mobile compliant. This means you can hire a vehicle, or check your monthly reports wherever you have access to the Internet, on your laptop or tablet.
With fanatical attention to consistency and detail Fownd will provide you with economy of scale, added value, and above all outstanding customer service.
0845 46 36963
info@fownd.co.uk
www.fownd.co.uk Fownd Limited • Equipoint • 1506 – 1508 Coventry Road • Yardley • B25 8AD
April 2018 CHAMBERLINK 65
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