News

On Tuesday 21^st October,  ACS held its first ever Technology Showcase. The event exhibited a selection of the very best innovations in technology available to convenience store retailers to help improve and benefit their business.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to the Work and Pensions Select Committee into the auto enrolment pension scheme, raising concerns about the impact of the plans on the smallest businesses and their staff.

The seventh annual ACS Heart of the Community conference will be taking place on Tuesday 21st October from 12.00pm – 3.30pm.

The conference, held in Westminster, brings retailers from across the country together with MPs and Ministers to discuss important issues facing local shops. 

Planning minister Brandon Lewis MP has admitted that Government does not monitor the effectiveness of planning rules designed to promote investment in town centres.

As part of an evidence session conducted by the Communities and Local Government Select Committee, the former high streets Minister  told the Committee that town centre first planning rules were a matter for local authorities to deal with as part of their local plans, despite fewer than one in seven actually having plans in place that comply with the NPPF.

ACS has called on Ministers to provide reassurance about tackling the illegal tobacco trade in face of proposals to introduce a new minimum excise tax for tobacco.

The proposal would seek to ensure that the cheapest tobacco on sale in the retail sector yields a higher tax take per pack. This so called ‘minimum excise tax’ is in place in most EU states and is being proposed following an unexpected decline in tobacco tax revenue in 2013/14.

ACS’ Responsible Retailing Forum will be taking place on 15^thOctober 2014 from 9.30am – 15.30pm.

The Forum, taking place at Wesley Hotel, London, will tackle a variety of responsible retailing issues affecting the local shop worker on a daily basis.

These include developments in alcohol licensing, such as getting and maintaining alcohol licenses in cumulative impact zones, regulating in-store marketing and promotions, and changes to licensing regulations (such as personal licence reform).

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.