29.05.2015 RN ON THE ROAD Test purchases, illicit alcohol: a day in the life of trading standards INVESTIGATION Page 28 » Constructing an opportunity ‘Local builders spend £500 a week on our hot snacks’ Page 32 » NEWS l CONVENIENCE l PROFIT www.betterretailing.com l £2.20 ‘We’ll prove £40m deal’s a win-win’ PAYPOINT l Booker to meet with Londis and Budgens retailers to answer questions and address concerns following merger. Facebook l Premier and Family Shopper stores promised better frenzy premium and fresh & chilled infrastructure. Page 5 » unites TOBACCO retailers Director Andrew High court Goddard to visit group founder after challenge 1,400 members over plain join in a week. packaging Page 5 » JTI, Philip Morris RETAIL CRIME and BAT file lawsuits against government. ‘My terror Page 4 » at the REGIONAL tillpoint’ Knifepoint attack Sinkhole is the harsh reality nightmare of handling high- Sales down 70% as cash services like retailer trades from PayPoint, says his car. Page 12 » retailer. Page 14 » Vol 126 No 22 Raspberry Vipul FOR TRADE USE ONLY The Wharf in Ebley Stroud has become Take a Break PoS push the first Mace store to open an ice cream parlour. With 18 22 planned for 17,000 flavours for customers to try, owner Vipul Panchmatia independent stores is hoping to sell 40 to 50 tubs a week. In its first three Page 7 days the parlour pulled in £400 in sales. » IRRESISTIBLY TASTY PROFITS New baked Cracker Crisps from Jacob’s, the market leader in savoury biscuits. Available in 3 top selling flavours. Supported by a £4.5million TV, PR and in-store campaign from July. STOCK UP IN TIME FOR THE TV CAMPAIGN! ® Registered MarkTrade of United Biscuits (UK) Limited. On TV from July www.betterbiscuits.com Tips, tools and advice from UB [email protected] 020 8234 5010 Cracker Crisps Retail Newsagent ad.indd 1 15/05/2015 17:28 Retail Newsagent 29 May 2015 3 I love numbers, budgeting and pulling apart reports with a calculator at my side. Because of this, I thoroughly enjoyed Aberdeen retailer Leanne McGowan’s number crunching on the PayPoint Pay Fair Facebook page over the weekend. Sceptical of the service provider’s much-vaunted “20% more footfall, 20% higher spend” claim, she picked a random day and analysed trans- RETAIL NEWSAGENT NEWS ● CONVENIENCE ● PROFIT actions and average spend for PayPoint users versus everyone else. Three interesting stats jumped out: first, 42% of her PayPoint users So the claim that didn’t buy anything else that day. Second, the average basket spend of a PayPoint users spend PayPoint user was £4.84, 22% lower than the £6.24 spent by non-users. And third, however, if you remove the 42% of PayPoint users who didn’t 20% more than average buy anything else, the average spend was £8.34, 33% higher than the shoppers only rings store average. true if you count the So the claim that PayPoint users spend 20% more than average shop- users who actually pers only rings true if you count the users who actually buy something. She also quite fairly asks who’s to say that the 75 PayPoint users that buy something day were new footfall and not existing customers who love her great prices and excellent service and paid their bills there because it was con- venient? The thing about market research is you can spin a compelling sales story out of any set of answers if you ask the right questions. And while some numbers look good sat in an air conditioned office, they don’t ring true with retailers on the ground. CHRIS GAMM Research is normally commissioned to justify, reinforce or change Editor behaviour. But if those you’re trying to influence have no confidence @ChrisGammRN in what you’re telling them, no appetite to believe it and have hard evidence to the contrary, you’re just flogging a dead horse. CONTENTS 26 40 NEXT WEEK NEWS dropped – why not more than 60 in London to carriage charges? years ago spend a day with a 4 INDUSTRY NEWS Tobacco 18 YOUR STOCK, YOUR 26 RETAILER trading standards firms sue government SAY Are your PROFILE officer as he visits over plain packaging customers indulging in Size isn’t stores in the area 6 BUSINESS NEWS Sales more top-up shopping everything – 34 3O INDUSTRY boost for Booker from these days? and Hitchin PROFILE Health fascia growth 19 YOUR ISSUE Three retailers retailer Gary Lottery national PREMIUM TOBACCO 7 NEWSTRADE Take a Break describe how foodservice Pilsworth sales manager Gary How suppliers are to get indies sales push works in their stores has proved Troman, below left, ensuring their brands from H Bauer 20 COLUMNIST the point by is in the RN hot seat survive in a dark market John Eastwood racking up 8 PRODUCT NEWS Britvic’s looks at what influences 31 WATER Get set for Taste of Summer is back – £500 a week summer tobacco buyers’ in hot food sales in bigger and better 34 WEBSITES AND APPS purchasing 30 his 1,000sq ft 12 REGIONAL NEWS Are you up to date with No end in decisions village store sight for Jeet Chopra’s 24 PRICEWATCH the state of the art? sinkhole nightmare Cooking sauces 39 PREVIEW New Snickers FEATURES 16 NFRN DISTRICT COUNCIL prices; RN’s THIS WEEK DIETARY REQUIREMENTS Republic of Ireland DC profile of Estée 28 TRADING Lauder, who STANDARDS IN MAGAZINES Which companies are COMMENT & launched her RN takes 41 ROUND-UP Saddle up for Le investing in the special- ANALYSIS beauty and to the streets Tour de France ist dietary food sector? 17 LETTERS Fuel prices have cosmetics empire of Islington 42 FOR YOUR SHELVES “RETAILERS INCREASINGLY NEED TO DO BUSINESS ON THE GO” – TODAY’S MANAGING DIRECTOR BILL LAIRD EXPLAINS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE NEW PLAN FOR PROFIT APP Page 34 » 4 29 May 2015 Retail Newsagent Mystery Race day raises £12,600 for shoppers NewstrAid Senior figures from the news- for ‘No ID’ paper and magazines industry Teenage mystery shop- turned out at Lingfield Park pers are to be sent into Race Day last week to show independent retailers to their support for newstrade buy cigarettes under a new charity NewstrAid. The organ- scheme to ensure proof-of- isation provides welfare and age compliance. support for past and present Stores will be visited newstrade workers through- by 18 and 19-year-olds to out the UK. Pictured at the check whether owners event is NFRN national deputy have adopted the ‘No ID, No vice president Ray Monelle, Sale’ policy when dealing national vice president Ralph with customers who are Patel and national president only just of legal age to buy Martyn Brown, along with their tobacco. wives Andrea, Urvashi and Under the scheme, Kate. An estimated £12,600 which is being rolled out was raised on the day. following a successful pilot in the north west of Eng- land, stores that fall short of the legal standard will Manufacturers take legal action BAT, PMI and JTI file objections to the High Court be ofered free, accredited training from former trad- ing standards ofcers. The compliance pro- gramme was first launched Government sued over in March this year by JTI, Philip Morris and Imperial Tobacco. plain tobacco packaging by Nicola Stewart The companies are seek- it by the state would in- packaging works, the JTI crime ing compensation that evitably want to challenge government has decided Three of the four biggest could amount to billions of and seek compensation. to proceed and JTI must tobacco manufacturers pounds if successful. “We look forward to now protect its rights in ad targets have followed through on Imperial Tobacco told having the opportunity the courts.” threats to take legal action RN it is also “actively to explain our views on The companies would 5 million against the government considering” its position, this divisive and unlawful not comment on whether JTI is using a full-page over plans to introduce with a “view to potentially measure.” the court action could advert in 70 regional plain packaging. issuing a legal challenge JTI managing director delay the introduction of newspapers in an attempt British American To- in the future”. Daniel Torras added: “We the measures, due to come to warn five million people bacco (BAT), Philip Morris A spokesman for BAT have clearly and repeat- into force in 2016. of the dangers of illicit International (PMI) and Ja- said: “Legal action is not edly made clear to the UK A spokesman for the De- tobacco selling. pan Tobacco International something we undertake government that plain partment of Health said: The media campaign will (JTI) have all filed legal ob- lightly, but the UK govern- packaging will infringe “We would not have gone highlight how illegal to- jections to the High Court, ment has left us with no our fundamental legal ahead with standardised bacco brings crime to com- arguing the measures other choice. rights. packaging unless we had munities and detail what deprive them of property in “Any business that has “Despite the lack of considered it to be defend- JTI is doing to help combat the form of trademarks. property taken away from evidence that plain able in the courts.” the problem, including in- forming the police and local trading standards. Jeremy Blackburn, JTI head of communications, Doubts over food waste scheme said: “By raising aware- A convenience store owner 200,000 strong signature Russell Holborn, of Hol- He said: “At the end of ness of the dangers illegal has welcomed a campaign campaign against food born’s in Surrey, said while the week, I might have a tobacco represents, we aim to force supermarkets to waste led to a law forcing he welcomed any scheme box of bananas and a box of to increase the number donate waste food to char- French supermarkets that redirected food waste onions left over.