There’s just 24 hours to go until the launch of the ACS 2024 Local Shop Report, taking place online tomorrow on the 10th of September. The report provides the most comprehensive look at shops, retailers, colleagues and customers that make up the UK convenience sector and has been built every year since 2012 to become a must-read in the industry for suppliers, retailers, and both local and national decision makers.

Join us tomorrow at 10am to learn about the current state of the UK convenience sector, the challenges it faces, and the changes that retailers across the country are making to futureproof their businesses. We have also invited three industry experts to take part in a discussion about the findings of the report alongside two members of ACS.

The panellists for the Local Shop Report launch are:

• Stefan Appleby, Head of Retail Engagement at Newtrade: Stefan has worked in news and convenience for more than 16 years, helping connect suppliers, brands and convenience retailers together via digital and print content, events and marketing, and PR & communications. Before re-joining Newtrade he spent more than five years working for Hanover Communications, helping suppliers including Mondelez International, Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I and Allwyn to reach the best retailers in the channel.
• Priyesh Patel, Part Owner at Londis N16: Londis N16 is a family-run shop in Stoke Newington that has been passed down through three generations. The shop has succeeded over the past years in becoming a go-to shop for people in the area due to the homemade Gujarati food made by Priyesh's mother Anju. This has led to press opportunities, supper clubs, private dinners and catering. Priyesh is responsible for the shop's viral Instagram which has gained nearly 10k followers over the last 5 years, spreading the message of the shop further than the general radius of a corner shop, by connecting with its customers online.
• Jo Hounsell, HR Director for Appleby Westward: Appleby Westward is one of the five wholesale businesses that form the SPAR symbol group in the UK. The Appleby Westward Group (AWG) operates and supplies both a company owned SPAR Estate and well established group of independent SPAR retailers across the South West of England. AWG’s territory stretches from West Sussex to Land’s End and as far north as south Gloucestershire. AWG has been a Spar wholesaler since 1968 and has operated out of it’s Saltash warehouse since the 60’s. In recent years the chilled and frozen wholesale operations have been consolidated at the Gregory Distribution site in Cullompton. In 2016 the Group acquired the retailer, Gillett’s (Callington) Ltd. Gillett’s operated 63 SPAR stores across the AWG region. The Group now owns over 120 retail stores and continues to acquire through its Wessex Retail subsidiary.

With less than 24 hours to secure your place, make sure to grab your spot at the Local Shop Report here and become one of the first to gain exclusive insights into the UK convenience sector, and listen to engaging discussions between leading retailers about the findings that could influence the way you do business in the future.

For any questions about the Local Shop Report or wider ACS research, please email [email protected]