Asif Ashraf, Smartways and MHouse Solutions

Asif Ashraf founded the symbol store chain Smartways in 2013. It has since grown to include 11 stores. He also owns and runs EPoS...

Growing… and in a good way

Food scares and scandals may be big news but Dr Colette Backwell, director of the Scottish Food and Drink Federation, argues that Scotland’s food...
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A social benefit

SCOTLAND’S convenience stores are becoming more and more defined by the term ‘community’. They’re service hubs as well as shops, some include post offices,...
Natalie Lightfoot

Coolness as a virtue

In Baillieston, east Glasgow, the selling power of frosty temperatures is well understood by retailer Natalie Lightfoot

Awards profile – confectionery retailer of the year

WHEN Mohammed Asif opened his Spar convenience store in Forfar in May 2011, on the site of a former kitchen showroom that had been...
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SG opinion: Minimising MUP’s impact on stores

Tennent’s brand owner Norman Loughery offers insight on policy
Blas Maquivar will be president, Mars Chocolate UK.

New face for chocolate giant

MARS has a new UK chocolate chief: Blas Maquivar will take up the role of president Mars Chocolate UK & Global Retail next month. ...

Meet the Maker: Hovis

Tom Pook, national account manager for wholesale & impulse accounts at Hovis, talks driving bakery sales in convenience retail.
Colin Smith

Awards profile – Symbol Store of the Year (single-store) 2015

Winner: Pinkie Farm convenience store, Musselburgh Symbol Store of the year (single-store business) – in association with Scottish Grocer magazine Interview with Colin Smith, owner (pictured...

Leading the way in quaff sales – Maxwell’s Clarkston

THE doors may only have opened in August of last year, but Maxwell’s Clarkston has already established itself as a veritable Aladdin’s cave of...
Murray Ferguson, Manager, Spar, Symbol Store of the Year sponsored by Britvic, Scottish Grocer Awards

Awards profile – Symbol Store of the Year 2014

Winner: Spar, High Street, Carnoustie Symbol Store of the Year (for businesses with more than one store under a symbol fascia) - Sponsored by Britvic Store details Size:...

Heeding the call

Sometimes the best way to find out what’s happening in the world of Scottish convenience retailing is to get out there and see it...

SG Profile: Costcutter New Deer

In 2015, the Scottish Government announced the Convenience Store Resource Efficiency Grant. Sandy Matthew, of Costcutter New Deer, was one of those who applied.
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The tobacco of tomorrow

In the second Convenience Conversation of 2019, Scottish Grocer invited a group of retailers and brand representatives to Glasgow to discuss the opportunities and challenges posed by the tobacco category. How can stores stay on top of a constantly evolving market?
Angie Turnbull, Warburtons retail development area manager, centre, and host Craig Hill, right, present the Scottish Grocer Bakery Retailer of the Year Award (managed store) to Craig McAulay of Scotmid Stockbridge.

Rising to the occasion

Scotmid Stockbridge sits in the heart of an affluent part of the north of Edinburgh and boasts a steady stream of loyal customers

Barry Hanif, independent store, Day-Today and Nisa

Barry Hanif has been a full-time retailer for three years and is the owner of three stores: an independent in Falkirk; a Day-Today in...