Read what’s happening in the convenience & independent retail space. Who are the latest innovators & winners in this marginalised retail sector?
Blakemore Trade Partners has opened two new stores at the University of Nottingham with a view to growing its university-based estate. The new stores, based on the University’s Jubilee Campus and University Park Campus, offer students an extensive new convenience range
Paul Cheema, one of the UK’s leading convenience store owners, has joined forces with bigDL, the powerful digital marketing platform, to drive footfall and sales in his convenience stores. The partnership will see Cheema roll out bigDL’s breadth of marketing
Northern supermarket Booths has donated a tremendous £4,250 to the North West Air Ambulance Charity. The North West Air Ambulance Charity’s helicopters fly 365 days a year, with the doctors and paramedics on board providing rapid treatment to patients across
The Southern Co-operative has launched regional partnerships with the disability charity, Scope and a group of local environment and nature charities, the Wildlife Trusts, donating £40,000 to each as part of a new community scheme to address local concerns across
Shelley Goel has been working with One Stop as a franchisee in Acocks Green since the beginning; being one of the first fully fledged franchisees to open in 2013. After seeing some great success in his first store, One Stop
Spar brand’s revamped toilet tissue has been recognised by the Good Housekeeping Institute for its great quality and design. The popular monthly women’s title has endorsed Spar brand’s Luxury Soft White Tissue (four-pack and nine-pack) for its performance, ease of use
The Southern Co-operative is celebrating a strong increase in its annual sales. The Society, which has 250 community food stores and funeral operations in 11 counties across the South of England, reported a 4.7% increase in total income to £366.8m
Spar’s successful footfall driving campaign, Shop & Win, is back this again year with more chances for shoppers to win than ever before. With the first burst of this year’s campaign kicking off on 5 May, customers will be in with
Spar UK is launching an exciting new broadband radio service for retailers, in a move to drive sales and create an enjoyable atmosphere in store for both customers and staff. The new in-store Spar Radio will bring listeners pop music, creative
With more of a focus on better catering for the family, One Stop has launched its new frozen range centred on ‘bigger packs, better value’ giving customers more choice in store when it comes to feeding their family at home. One
Spar UK is teaming up with Holland & Barrett, the UK’s leading health retailer, to offer a range of skincare, vitamin, mineral and food supplements. The partnership is currently in a trial phase in three stores in Northern Ireland, with plans
Spar is targeting alfreso dining with the launch of an own label summertime range and revamps across salads and meats. Spar brand’s summertime range launches in April and is claimed to be worth a targeted £5.5m in sales, targeting the huge
One Stop has today launched a new marketing campaign ‘Pop to One Stop’ aimed at elevating its position in the fresh and chilled category and becoming the go-to local neighbourhood convenience store appealing across all occasions; inspiration for dinner tonight,
ACS chief executive James Lowman has called on the convenience sector to engage with local decision makers to establish their community credentials and make sure the economic role of local shops is understood. In his introductory remarks at Summit'16, Lowman
One Stop’s ninth store to start trading in Scotland, Alva, opened on Friday 1 April. A monumental project for franchisees Wasim and Farrah taking an old, empty, run down Royal Bank of Scotland building and transforming it into an amazing,
Spar UK has made some fantastic improvements to its soft drinks range in time for summer 2016 – including removing 51.6 tonnes of sugar from across the range. This incredible reduction equates to 206m calories, thanks to Spar’s thorough review and
Spar brand has refreshed its range of sharing snacks in time for summer. A new Chicken Bites sharing tub has been introduced to the range, while all products have been redesigned with bright new packaging. The new Chicken Bites addition will
Northern fine food retailer Booths will host a decadent Easter Chocolate Festival on the 18 and 19 of March to celebrate the artisan producers with which it collaborates and Booths’ indulgent selection of Easter treats.
Thirteen Store Managers from Booths have completed the Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for two local charities, The Magic of Matilda and Donna’s Dream House. The Magic of Matilda raises funds for a young local girl Matilda Moffatt, who suffers
At a time when independent retailers are being heralded as the saviours of the British high street, an innovative new payment solution claims to be helping small retailers, restaurants, bars and coffee shops across the UK to fight back against
The countdown to the largest youth sporting event in the county, the Spar Lancashire School Games, has kicked-started after it was officially launched across Lancashire. Now in its tenth year, over 2,400 youngsters are expected to take part in the Spar
The Association of Convenience Stores has called on MPs to reject an amendment tabled in the Enterprise Bill on SundayTrading, which it claims will damage the economy and devastate small shops. The Department for Business published its response to The consultation
Nisa Retail, the specialist wholesaler and convenience symbol group, today announces strong retailer recruitment growth for the nine months to 31 December 2015, as the company’s turnaround gains further momentum. 374 new stores recruited in 9 months to 31 December 2015 199
Spar claims it is heating up sales for the rest of this winter, with the launch of great quality new hot drinks from Spar brand.
Northwest food and drink retailer Booths delivered resilient Christmas sales. Overall sales were up +5.9% with like-for-like sales down -1.4% over the Christmas trading period*, the retailer reports. Sales held up well against the backdrop of a challenging retail market
