Read what’s happening in the convenience & independent retail space. Who are the latest innovators & winners in this marginalised retail 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
Spar has smashed the marketing awards circuit, with three award wins on one night for its mobile marketing campaign, Shop & Win. The hugely successful footfall-driving campaign took Gold in the Mobile category and Silver for the Traditional Retailers, e-Commerce, Catalogue,
AF Blakemore is celebrating after three of its responsible business programmes retained their Big Tick status in the Business in the Community 2015 Awards for Excellence. The company’s Foodservice division has also made a donation to a local children’s hospice.
One Stop is launching its new customer initiative in-store, based on insight gained from its successful ‘My Local One Stop’ (MLOS) programme. Customer Week marks the public unveiling of the initiative across the One Stop estate, within both company-owned and
Food and wine retailer Booths is on track to open the much anticipated store in Burscough Lancashire on the 15 July. Richard Ford has been appointed as the new store manager, and has some 30 years of experience of working at
One Stop reports its franchise model is reaping rewards for independent retailers, with franchisees showing +9.4% like for like growth in the year to date. Against the backdrop of a challenging market, the figures point to the group’s retail focus and convenience expertise
Roadchef, one of the UK’s largest motorway service area operators and Spar have today announced an agreement to introduce Spar stores as an additional offering to serve the 46m visitors who stop at Roadchef’s sites each year. The agreement will launch
North West retailer Booths has been shortlisted as a finalist in the prestigious Responsible Business Awards. Booths is one of a handful of companies competing for national status. Run by charity Business in the Community (BITC), the Responsible Business Awards
One Stop Franchise claims it is set to become the first to market with a new Country Choice package, as the group forges a category partnership with one of the leading in-store bakery providers. Franchisees will be offered a unique
One Stop’s leadership team is celebrating its new skills after completing a range of qualifications and training from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). Twenty seven senior managers have completed the Level 7 Qualification in Strategic Management & Leadership, delivered by One Stop
Blakemore Trade Partners has announced a plan to roll out contactless payment technology across its independent Spar estate following a successful trial. The business will introduce contactless payment kit to all EPOS stores over the coming months, with the rollout
With summer nearly here, Spar retailers are helping shoppers celebrate the season, whatever the weather, with this year’s Spar brand Summertime range. Outdoor entertaining is more popular than ever, making this a profitable time of year for Spar’s retailers, and
The National Guild of Spar has generously donated £10,000 to Oxfam for its Nepal Earthquake emergency appeal. On Saturday 25 April, a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake destroyed towns and villages throughout central Nepal and killed 5,000 people. It is estimated that
One Stop Franchise is rolling out remote access to its arsenal of systems, aimed at making retail simpler for franchisees. This new facility will allow retailers to access their store’s back office PC and even place orders from anywhere in
One Stop is celebrating treble figures for its franchise operation, just fifteen months since the full roll-out. The 100th store to sign up to One Stop’s franchise model is located in the Midlands and will be undergoing its transformation within
AF Blakemore has revealed a new partnership with award-winning Spar retail and restaurant business EAT 17. The Blakemore Group has announced a joint venture with the East London-based company with the purpose of gaining a greater understanding of its success
Blakemore Trade Partners has launched a brand new retailer induction to welcome new retailers to Spar. The two-day induction programme, based at AF Blakemore’s main site in Willenhall, aims to provide new joiners with an overview of the key retailer
One Stop has opened its first in-store Subway concessions in the space of 24 hours, with the first appearing within a One Stop franchise and the second within one of its company-owned sites. The franchise store, on Evington Road in
