Read what’s happening in the convenience & independent retail space. Who are the latest innovators & winners in this marginalised retail sector?
Roadchef, one of the UK’s largest Motorway Service Area (MSA) operators, has announced the opening of a new Spar store at its Northampton site on the M1 and A43. Offering grocery items and a selection of artisan products, Northampton becomes the
Spar International, the world’s largest voluntary retail chain, has announced plans to grow its footprint in Africa with confirmation that the brand has opened its first store in Cameroon, one week after opening a supermarket in Lilongwe, the capital of
Spar retailers can maximise the potential of their businesses by taking a fresh look at their stores and all of the exciting new and existing initiatives offered by Blakemore Trade Partners. That was the key message from this year’s Blakemore
EAT 17’s Spar Hackney has won the prestigious national IGD Innovative Store of the Year Award. The IGD Awards recognise the achievements of retailers across the UK’s food and grocery industry, with winners being selected by some of the sector’s top
Spar UK claims it is set to become a digital leader in the convenience sector, with the launch of a new digital strategy that is even more adaptive to today’s consumers. Following an extensive phase of customer research and data
Tokheim, one of the world’s largest providers of fuel retailing solutions, is returning to Retail’s Best for the third time running this November, this time as the official EPOS partner. Tokheim will be using this year’s Retail’s Best event as the platform to share
Shoppers across the North can now mark the 5p bag tax which the government launched on 5 October in style. Northern retailer Booths has responded to the new legislation, which is designed to reduce litter and encourage sustainable bag use, by
A local retail group has launched plans to install Northern Ireland’s largest network of external, public access defibrillator devices here, it has been announced today. Over 300 of Mallusk-based Henderson Group’s Spar, Eurospar and VIVO branded outlets have signed up to
Spar UK is launching its first ever ’12 Deals of Christmas’ campaign, offering shoppers fantastic new promotions and money-off deals every week from next month. Offers will run on products including top brands from suppliers including P&G, PepsiCo, Britvic, AB InBev
One Stop has launched a new frozen meal deal, in response to consumer demand and the success of its existing evening and lunchtime meal deals. The promotion is unique in the sector due to the breadth of products involved and
Spar is launching an exciting new media campaign, aimed at surprising shoppers with all the products they can find in their local store. In a series of TV ads and sponsorship, the new media campaign focuses on eight headline products. To
Food and drink retailer Booths is offering the definitive Great Northern Christmas to gourmands across Britain this year, offering nationwide delivery on their superb Christmas range. With 31 stores across Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester, the award-winning retailer
Morrisons has reported a 47% fall in half year profits to £126m and is closing 11 supermarkets as part of its plans to turnaround the business. Like-for-like sales in the six months to 2 August fell by 2.7%. Yesterday (9 September), Morrisons confirmed
A Barton-upon-Humber retailer has become the first franchisee to take advantage of One Stop’s innovative pop up shop, which was launched by the group just over two years ago. One Stop has relaunched its ‘mini store’, following requests from its
ExaClair, the UK supplier of brands that include Rhodia, Europa, Guildhall and Clairefontaine has signed a new contract with WHSmith Travel that ensures premium space for its Rhodia and Europa brands. Some 80 WHSmith Travel stores, located in train stations
A One Stop franchisee is celebrating his first anniversary of trading with One Stop by completing a major expansion programme and trebling the size of his store in the process. Umesh Gola joined One Stop Franchise in August last year
One Stop Franchise has officially opened its 100th store after a full re-fit, following May’s announcement it had reached treble figures just 15 months since the scheme was rolled out. The opening also marks One Stop’s investment in the independent sector
bigDL, an omni-channel marketing solution, has joined forces with several major brands to assist retailers in driving sales across the UK’s convenience sector. Popular brands partnering with bigDL include Molson Coors, Danone Waters, Birds Eye, Tetley, Whyte and Mackay and
Booths, the North West based food and wine retailer, will open a new store in Lytham St Annes on 9 September. The new Booths is over 36,000sq ft and will feature a café, butchery, fishmonger and state of the art deli
One Stop reports its franchisees recruited from symbol groups are seeing strong growth and has just welcomed a top Nisa retailer to its fold. The latest like for like figures for One Stop franchisees revealed all of its ex-symbol stores
Shelley and Anu Goel, one of the original pilot retailers for One Stop Franchise, are set to open their second franchise in Birmingham, following the outstanding success of their Acocks Green store. The second store is located in Warstock, a
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has launched new guidance for retailers on how to meet the needs of disabled customers in store. The guide has been developed in partnership with the Business Disability Forum, and covers a range of issues including
The UK’s largest independent co-operative society is separating the management of its 25 supermarkets from its total estate of 238 food stores as part of a new strategy to increase the performance of its units that are more than 8,000sq
Spar is inspiring shoppers with things to do and delicious food to eat this summer, with its new online marketing campaign, ♯HappyDays. The Spar UK website, www.spar.co.uk, is now jam-packed with exciting summer recipes, great offers and deals to drive
The village of Fallin, near Stirling has been unveiled as the location of the first ever One Stop store in Scotland, as the neighbourhood retailer makes its historic debut north of the border. One Stop revealed its intention to launch
