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The chill to succeed

INVERURIE isn’t exactly short of places to buy lunch. The affluent Aberdeenshire community has a thriving town centre blessed with a remarkable number of independent...

It’s time to party!

A period of major celebration, socialising, gift giving and indulgence, the festive season is brimming with potential for the canny retailer. But how to...

Chilled – a hot topic

In its second Convenience Conversation, Scottish Grocer invited a select group of leading retailers and representatives from food, drink, wholesale and refrigeration firms to...
The main bakery fixture at Spar, Hillfoot Road in Ayr takes a prime position in Aisle 1 of the store. Wrapped bread and loose rolls take up the first section of the fixture. As consumers make their way down the aisle they pass morning goods in the second fixture section. The substantial local popularity of cake means those products take a large space in the third segment. To make way for the cakes, Spar-branded part-baked bread and world breads are merchandised in a free-standing display unit at the start of the fixture, and the products do well there. The main fixture ends with bake-off products.

Award profile – Bread and Bakery of the Year Award 2014

Winner: Spar, Hillfoot Road, Ayr Bread and Bakery of the Year Award 2014 – in association with Kingsmill. Interview with Kevin Rarity, store manager, above left,...
Stirling University

Saving town centres – it’s not all about retail

Out-of-town shopping centres have played a part in the sorry state of many Scottish town centres. But so has out-of-town everything else. Town centres...
Elizabeth Bremner

Keeping abreast of redundancy rules

At the end of March, P&O Ferries hit the headlines attracting substantial outrage from politicians, trade unions and the public alike when it dismissed around 800 employees without notice, subsequently replacing them with agency workers.
Harris Aslam runs four Nisa stores

Harris Aslam, Nisa

As company director of Eros Retail, Harris Aslam runs four Nisa stores (in Leven, Kirkcaldy, Alloway and Markinch) and hopes to have six before...
Headshot of Amanda Brown and screenshot of the knowledge bank website

Banking on category data

SCOTTISH food and drink brands are performing well, but they could be doing even better according to Amanda Brown, project director at The Knowledge Bank.
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...
Joanna Waddell

Plastic strategy will affect retail

LATE last year CMS teamed up with the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) to host an event in Edinburgh, looking at the affect of plastic waste regulations on the nation’s food and drink sector.
Edinburgh South MSP Daniel Johnson

SG interview: Daniel Johnson MSP ‘Time to act on retail crime’

Assaults “unacceptable” says MSP.

‘Focus on the day job’

Bestway’s managing director on wholesale, alcohol, tobacco, Tesco, Booker and Brexit. MARTIN Race was named as Bestway’s new managing director in August last year. With...

Buoyant in the face of TPD2 rules

How do you solve a problem like TPD2? With strict EU legislation on tobacco retailing now in force it’s goodbye to branded and price-marked...
1st Stop 2 Shop

New generation profile: Umar Sher, 1st Stop 2 Shop

We ask some of Scotland’s young c-store retailers about their businesses and the key issues of the day.

Meet the Maker: Hovis

Tom Pook, national account manager for wholesale & impulse accounts at Hovis, talks driving bakery sales in convenience retail.
Clare Narey, Manager, Spar, Social Responsibility Award sponsored by Diageo, Scottish Grocer Awards

Award profile – Social Responsibility Award 2014

Winner: Spar, Orleans Place, Dundee Clare Narey, Manager, Spar, Social Responsibility Award, Scottish Grocer Awards, (for businesses with more than one store) - Sponsored by Diageo Store...