Minister says give us your online competition ideas
ONLINE grocery shopping and its effect on convenience retailing headed the agenda when the Scottish Grocers Federation met with UK undersecretary of state for Scotland Lord Andrew Dunlop at 10 Downing Street last month.
The meeting was a follow-up to Lord Dunlop’s keynote address at the SGF ‘Success in Scotland’ summit earlier this year.
SGF highlighted the growing involvement of companies like Amazon in online grocery shopping. The federation reckons such companies can have tax advantages that give them a competitive edge and put more pressure on independent retailers in a hugely-competitive UK market.
Lord Dunlop said his department would send details of the steps the UK government is taking to ensure a level playing field on tax and would welcome any comments from the SGF.
He said Westminster sees the importance of independent convenience stores and the Scotland Office is committed to strengthening relations with the SGF and its retail members.
