MEMBERSHIP MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT RETAILERS ISSUE 15 Back in growth A blooming success One Stop to sales growth MAY 2021 Exclusive deals send hundreds How working with Newspro can Find out how a Pembrokeshire of members flocking to join help your gardening magazine retailer is transforming four of the NFRN sales blossom his stores Booker Bonanza: Add £750 to your bottom line with our latest joint voucher promotion Don’t forget, as a member you have access to all these benefits, resources and support. Average Generate an Free legal annual savings extra advice saves £1,417 £1,000 £1,480 Save money Total savings: Make it easier £3,897 Make money BARCLAYCARD POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT Finding the right payment solutions is Your voice in the corridors of power across easy with our Barclaycard partnership. the UK and Ireland. BOOKER SCAN NOW to Redeem your Booker vouchers for free and SCAN NOW to read learn more about more about how we discounted products. Earn over £750. payment solutions are championing you from Barclaycard. where it matters most. BIONIC See pages 18-19 CHARITABLE FUNDS Business energy, broadband, phone and for more details. Access to confidential support, grants finance. Switching business energy alone and benefits when you need them most. could save you £1,305 a year. JISP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT/SAVEWELL LEGAL PLUS Join the app thats allows you to offer home Tailor-made business templates to help Exclusive members’ offer with an average delivery, click & collect and in-app voucher you deal with legal matters. saving of £400 per year. services through one unified platform. THE RETAIL MUTUAL NFRN CREDIT UNION RETAIL STANDARDS Switch your business cover to The Retail Members’ own credit union with account Library of reference guides, training modules, Mutual and enjoy a whopping 10 per cent and low cost borrowing facilities. factsheets, checklists and risk assessments. saving on your quote. LEGAL FUELWISE MEMBER2MEMBER Qualified legal professionals 24 hours a Be in control of your diesel costs. Average Recruit and earn £75 each time. day, 365 days a year. Cover up to the value savings of £280 a year. of £100,000. TAX PROTECTION NFRN Connect is your membership helpline Tax advice, VAT disputes, full tax The team is here seven days a week to provide investigations. Savings up to£250 . support and assistance on all aspects of your business and membership. NEWSPRO Free to join news category management Call today on 0800 121 6376 or 020 7017 8880 service. Average cash flow saving of£500 . to see what we can do for you. E: [email protected] WWW.THEFEDONLINE.COM W: TheFedOnline.com Contents ISSUE 15 MAY 2021 CONTENTS | What’s in this issue LATEST FEATURES Brought to you by the NFRN, The Fed is packed with advice, 44 | Delivering on a promise success stories and industry to improve service news to help you increase your profits and make the most of 46 | How newspaper your store. subscriptions are going digital As some normality returns, we ask members what they have learned 5 | A word from the National 48 | It pays to complain! from lockdown and what changes President they have introduced into their 51 | Why millions of businesses as a result. 6 | Latest NFRN news newspaper readers With late newspapers a hot potato, depend on Newsprinters Cyber crime advice we quiz Smiths News on why it is 13 | reviewing customers’ delivery times 53 | Join Newspro and see your and show how the new Press 14 | New #ShopKind campaign magazine sales bloom! Distribution Charter can help when issues arise with your news supplies. 18 | Enjoy a Booker bonanza 56 | 100 years old and still going strong Enjoy the issue! 20 | Father, dear father 59 | One Stop to sales National President and Editor in chief: 22 | Lessons from lockdown growth for Peter Stuart Reddish Editor: Anne Bingham 27 | Supercharge your sales Life after menthol 0207 017 8887 [email protected] 65 | Advertising: Mike Baillie 28 | Things to remember 07908 777908 when looking for business Design and production: Monitor Creative insurance quotes 0161 743 0980 www.monitorcreative.co.uk 33 | Access all areas with The Fed Talks Bede House, Belmont Business Park, Durham DH1 1TW Freephone number: 0800 121 6376* (select option 1) DISTRICT DIGEST Calling from a mobile: 020 7017 8880 Calling from ROI: 01 453 5822 35 | Your pull-out guide *Free from UK landline phones only. Charges may apply to activity around when calling from abroad or from a mobile phone. the districts [email protected] Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy 36 | London of information contained in this publication, no guarantee is given that the information provided is correct, complete, and/or up-to-date. The materials contained in this publication 38 | South East are provided for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal or other professional advice on any | subject matter. The NFRN and the publisher do not accept 40 South West any responsibility for any loss which may arise from reliance on information contained in this publication. Produced by Monitor Creative and printed in England. WWW.THEFEDONLINE.COM WWW.THEFEDONLINE.COM ISSUE 15 MAY 2021 3 | | 4 ISSUE 15 MAY 2021 WWW.THEFEDONLINE.COM Latest National President’s Welcome Stuart Reddish A word from the NFRN National President Plenty of positive news this month, with significant Once again, there are free cases and buy one, get one free membership growth and the launch of our latest voucher offers on a wide range of leading brands and if you redeem promotion with Booker, which is our biggest yet! them all you can make up to £750! More than 3,500 of you benefited last time round, with over 50,000 vouchers being Our combination of practical support, help and assistance, redeemed. I hope even more of you participate this time, coupled with attractive and exclusive deals and new making full use of the offers. As you do so, please send us communication methods, such as The Fed Talks and the photographs of the products in your cars and in your shops. National President Talks, are making membership a must, In return, we will send you another booklet! resulting in hundreds of retailers joining the NFRN. At the April national council meeting two important decisions What we cannot afford to do is sit on our laurels, so we were made. The first was for the NFRN to purchase a new will continue to find new ways to help you make money, customer relationship management (CRM) system and save money and find easier ways of doing business, the second to recruit a new chief operating officer (COO). which is what vice president Muntazir Dipoti, deputy The former will help streamline processes to improve our vice president Jason Birks and I set out in our three-year customer service, help members increase sales and boost business plan. It is pleasing to see this coming to fruition. both our and your profitability. A COO can help us build on our achievements to date and shape the next stage of our Talking about deals, I would ask that you look out for the development. What I can promise is that we will continue latest booklets of vouchers from Booker and the NFRN, to provide a unique and developing package of support and which will be dropping through your letterboxes in the next practical help for you, our members, and ensure the NFRN couple of weeks. maintains our role as the leading retail trade association. WWW.THEFEDONLINE.COM WWW.THEFEDONLINE.COM ISSUE 15 MAY 2021 5 | The latest news VICTORY More good news from Smiths News 1 Our excellent relationship with Smiths vast volumes week in week out, is News has again proved successful, and is something that would help them. now yielding even greater satisfaction for members, with the news that its policy “Technology investments, such as the of recharging magazines claims ceased improved live quality checking we are on April 18. rolling out across our network, that improve accuracy even by a small This follows the recent announcement amount, can have a significant impact that carriage charges reviews have been on the time it takes to manage the suspended; record response levels on category in store. this change as a huge step forward queries raised through NFRN Connect, in making the news category easier pro rata increases from the Daily Mail “Changing how we manage those claims to manage. and the creation of a new Press when we receive them, removing the Distribution Forum Charter (see pages immediate credit that can lead to a “All members supplied by Smiths 48-49). recharge and potential confusion, will News will no doubt welcome the also help reduce the administration change and no longer having to check The single policy of recharging shortage time needed by members. the status of debits and credits often claims, yet redelivering what was across a number of invoices or having originally missing, often left retailers “Ensuring that we make the right to explain this difference to the confused about what actually took decision on claims quickly, and company’s customer services staff.” place or why. This then led to the need sharing the reasons for those decisions, for a frustrating call to be made to the especially where we reject claims as Simon Gage, commercial director at wholesaler again to make a second we have evidence the product has been Smiths News, added: “Working more claim, in order to gain their credit. delivered or found, will further support closely with the NFRN has allowed us This has arguably been the biggest our customers.” to better understand what will help cause of retailer service dissatisfaction members most and then find ways to for decades.