News

The ACS Achievement Award aimed to seek out the most promising people in the convenience store industry to win a place on ACS’ European Study Tour in Barcelona.

Susan Connolly, Business Development Manager at Connolly Spar, was announced as the winner of the Achievement Award at an exclusive event in Leicester on 30^th September.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) and the Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD) have pressed for more action to tackle duty fraud and the illicit trade in alcohol and tobacco at a meeting with Priti Patel MP, the Exchequer Secretary.

ACS is holding an EGM on 4 December at which it will ask members to vote on changes to its constitution to allow any convenience store operator to become a member of the Association.

ACS Chairman Jonathan James said: “As the market changes, we have found that our current constitution excludes many potential members, including franchises run by major multiples with independent retailers.  The ACS board agreed that these changes are necessary to ensure ACS is a broad-based, inclusive and effective organisation moving forward.

Towns and villages around Britain are set to battle it out after making it onto the shortlist for the Great British High Street Awards.

The competition to find Britain’s best high streets is highlighting new and innovative ways to boost high streets and ideas that will be shared with others. It is shining a light on hard working traders and communities around the country and showing what can be done to help shopping streets evolve to be places where people want to shop, socialise and work.

The National Minimum Wage will rise from £6.31 to £6.50 today (October 1^st) for employees over the age of 21 (an increase of 3%).

In addition to the change in the adult rate, there are also changes to the youth and development rates of the minimum wage. From today, the 18-20 year old rate will rise from £5.03 to £5.13, the 16-17 rate from £3.72 to £3.79 and the apprentice rate from £2.68 to £2.73.

UK convenience store retailers have invested more in their staff over the last three months than at any time since the start of 2012, according to new research from the Association of Convenience Stores.

Research conducted by ACS has shown that for the first time since the start of the Voice of Local Shops Survey, there are more retailers that have increased the number of staff hours in their business than those who have decreased hours. In addition, the business performance of convenience stores is at its highest ever level in the survey’s history.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has submitted evidence to the Low Pay Commission, calling on the commission to carefully assess the impact of the rate rise on small retailers.

In its submission, ACS notes that according to a survey of retailers, increases in the minimum wage correlate with a negative effect on business competitiveness. 56% of retailers stated that NMW rises have made their business less competitive.

‘Managing Health And Safety’ and ‘Selling Fireworks’ are the two latest Assured Advice Guides published by ACS under its innovative primary authority compliance scheme. The scheme, which is free to all ACS members, provides retailers with excellent tailored advice developed by retail and local authority experts.

Once members sign up to the scheme and use the guidance, they can be sure that their policies and procedures will not be challenged or changed by any other local authority.

Shadow Small Business Minister Toby Perkins has called for more to be done to reform the rates system as part of a discussion on the future of the high street at Labour Party Conference.

During the fringe event hosted by ACS and the British Independent Retailers Association, Mr Perkins recognised the need to bring down business rates bills on high streets across the country and also called for a review of property tax to help businesses.

Local shops have responded to recent announcements on the minimum wage, calling for politicians not to undermine the decision making process of the Low Pay Commission.

At the Labour Party’s annual conference, Mr Miliband pledged that the minimum wage would rise to £8.00 an hour by 2020. The current minimum wage rate is due to rise to £6.50 next month.