The comment column is for retail professionals to have their say. Whether responding to published opinion, reacting to or challenging reports or commenting on retail trends and predictions this is where you can gauge sentiment on all sorts of retail focussed topics.
More than 80% of web site reviews are fabricated by companies themselves and edited so only positive reaction is visible or written by someone who has never experienced the service, a leading campaigner claimed today. Andy Mabbutt, director of the
Local shops have welcomed proposals to restrict Councils’ ability to publish free ‘news sheets’ and seek to end the unfair competition that these provide to important local and regional commercial newspapers. Association of News Retailing (ANR) managing director John Lennon
Morrisons’ plan to launch an online channel is a logical next step, according to Kantar Worldpanel. The market research company expects Morrisons to poach business from shoppers who currently go elsewhere to buy groceries online. Fraser McKevitt, retail analyst at
Retail Times editor, Fiona Briggs, argues all the top supermarkets should be focusing on speciality and fine foods Waitrose is leading the field in speciality and fine foods if my visit to this week’s Speciality & Fine Foods Fair at
ACS (Association of Convenience Stores) has warned changes in alcohol licensing would be ineffective and cost convenience retailers at least £11m. Speaking in response to the Home Office consultation, Rebalancing the Licensing Act, ACS chief executive, James Lowman, said: “The
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has criticised David Cameron’s support for local minimum alcohol pricing. The Prime Minister made the comments in an interview with the Manchester Evening News, where he said the plans to introduce a minimum unit
The ACS (Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed Government plans to introduce a Grocery Code Adjudicator (GCA) to oversee the relationship between supermarkets and suppliers from as early as next year. In an announcement made today, Ministers have confirmed a
The ACS (Association of Convenience Stores) has reacted to the Home Office consultation on proposals to reform the Licensing Act and to introduce a ban on the below cost sale of alcohol. The consultation proposes new powers for local authorities
A new report highlighting the importance of local shops to communities in London has got the backing of the ACS (Association of Convenience Stores). The study, Cornered Shops – London Small Shops and the Planning System, has been published today
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed the first Budget of the new Coalition Government. Its reaction to the main announcements are as follows: The Chancellor announced an increase in VAT to 20% from 4 January 2011 ACS chief
In the lead up to the Emergency Budget on Tuesday, the ACS (Association of Convenience Stores) has put forward its recommendations to Government. They include: A radical re-think of existing enforcement priorities, agency responsibilities and sentencing aiming to recoup 50% of
The CBI today commented on the latest official inflation figures, which showed that the Consumer Prices Index was 3.4% higher in May compared with a year ago. Ian McCafferty, CBI chief economic adviser, said: “UK inflation has started to come
The Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (TMA) is today calling on government to provide for exemptions to the smoking ban on the third anniversary of the public places smoking ban in England. Christopher Ogden, chief executive of the TMA, said: “We are not
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has written to new business secretary Vince Cable urging an urgent review of planned restrictions on tobacco display and outlining important new evidence. The call comes as the Department for Business laid out ambitious
As the Environment Minister publishes the detail of long held plans to impose a bag tax on Welsh consumers, ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has expressed concerns about the impact the tax will have on local and high street
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has warned that local shops could close if proposals announced today by NICE (the National Institute for Clinical Excellence) to limit the number of alcohol licences in a given area became Government policy. ACS
The TMA (Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association) has discredited a new report from the health lobbying group ASH*, claiming it revisits previous reports and documents that are already in the public domain. Christopher Ogden, chief executive of the TMA, said: “It is
After the announcement of Asda’s purchase of the Netto business in the UK for £778m, Association of Convenience Stores chief executive James Lowman said: “The UK already has one of the most concentrated grocery markets in the world, with four companies controlling
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has expressed its concerns about the implications of the Government’s decision to scrap ID cards following today’s Queen’s Speech, where the coalition has set out its legislative agenda. ACS chief executive James Lowman said:
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has set out the key concerns of the local shop sector in advance of the Emergency Budget on the 22 June 2010. In the submission local shops urge the new Chancellor to think carefully
The ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has pledged to work with the new Government to help implement its agenda for change on the day the prime minister and deputy prime minister published the Coalition Agreement setting out their policy
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has criticised Labour’s manifesto pledge to increase the national minimum wage by at least the level of increase in average earnings. ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “In an uncertain economic climate, with pay
The Chancellor’s decision to raise tobacco taxation in the UK for the second time this year will benefit illicit trade, according to the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association (TMA). Christopher Ogden, chief executive of the TMA, said: “On the 1 January 2010 the
Marketers should adopt a stealth approach when promoting healthier formulations, according to Datamonitor. Responding to calls from manufacturers and health experts for food firms to take greater responsibility for creating healthier offerings at a recent Australian FoodLegal Symposium, Katrina Diamonon,
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed the commitment in the Conservative Planning Green Paper to reinstate the ‘need test’ and tighten up restrictions on harmful out-of-town retail development. The abolition of the ‘need test’ by the Government in
