enough’s enough end carriage charges · the future hold for the customer?’ at igd wholesaling...

THE MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT RETAILERS

@NFRN_online facebook.com/nfrnonline www.nfrnonline.com

NewsLettersPublic affairsNFRN Awardsand much more…

ISSUE 145OCTOBER 2017

END CARRIAGE CHARGESENOUGH’S ENOUGH

PAGE 32

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NFRN NEWSNational news 4-7Local news 9

TRADE SHOWSSummer events 10-11

LETTERSHaving your say 12

POLITICAL ISSUESCarrier bag code and crime 15

NATIONAL COUNCIL Autumn proceedings 16-19

THE FED’S GUIDE TO...Newspapers and magazines 22-26

RETURN SCHEMEPlans are a step closer 28-30

ENOUGH’S ENOUGHRetailer protest at Smiths News 32-36

NFRN AWARDSRetailer finalists 39

PAYZONE TERMSNFRN victorious 40-41

ASK THE EXPERTSLegal support for your business 42-43

FOOD-TO-GOIs a way of modern life 46-50

HERE TO HELPNFRN Connect 52-53

NEWSPROFrontline’s festive tips 56

STORE2DOORSub retailing success 58-59

NEWSPROMenzies portal upgrade 60

NEWSPAPER MARGINSAt a glance guide 62

DIARYKey dates 63

CONTENTS

Disclaimer: While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this publication, no guarantee is given that the information provided is correct, complete, and/or up-to-date. The materials containedin this publication are provided for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal or other professional advice on any subject matter. The NFRN and the publisher do not accept any responsibility for any losswhich may arise from reliance on information contained in this publication. Produced by MYPEC and printed in England.

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LINDA SOODNFRN National President

National President Linda Sood

Editor Anne Bingham 0207 017 8887 [email protected]

Editorial 0207 253 4225

Advertising Carolyn Kirkland0207 017 8883 [email protected]

Design & production MYPEC0113 257 9646 [email protected] www.mypec.co.uk

As if any further evidence was needed ofabuse by news wholesalers, Smiths Newsrecently announced that come Novemberits carriage charges would be hiked by anaverage of 4 per cent.

At a time when many independentretailers are suffering financially, for SmithsNews to expect its customers to absorbsuch a significant increase is totallybeyond me.

Carriage charges are a blight on newsretailers. They are outdated and unfair; in short, a rip off. They deny retailers alarge slice of the margin they shouldreceive from selling newspapers andmagazines, and isn’t it strange that theyalways go up when circulations continueto decline, and when petrol and dieselprices fall?

As I told national councillors at ourrecent meeting in Liverpool, if the moneySmiths News recouped from these chargeswas used to invest in the business and toimprove the service that it gives to itsretail customers, then perhaps it could bemore comprehensible. But given recentperformances from the new Birminghamand Hemel houses, it appears that nothingcould be further from the truth.

It’s not surprising then that members’anger and frustration has been boilingover, and as you will have seen from the front page, this culminated in a

demonstration outside the newswholesaler’s head office last month.

In one of the most high profile actionsthe NFRN has taken for some time weaimed to get Smiths News’ seniormanagement to recognise that forindependent news retailers, enough wasenough; that it’s time they got to gripswith service levels and to be trulytransparent when it comes to revealingthe make-up of the charge. In the longerterm we want a complete overhaul ofcarriage charges before it is too late andindependent retailers give up on thenewspaper and magazine categories.

I would like to say thank you to theretailers who came along to voice theiranger and I am proud of our efforts inrepresenting our members’ interests in this way. We have clearly shown that‘enough’s enough’.

What Smiths News – and MenziesDistribution too for that matter – shoulddo now is negotiate an improved marginfrom the publishers.

And, in my meeting with representativesfrom all the supply chain, I will be urgingthem to think long and hard about theway it operates and to find better ways tofund wholesalers that does not pile yetmore cost on hard pressed retailers.Through future columns in The Fed I willkeep you posted on my success.

4 NFRNONLINE.COM OCTOBER 2017

NATIONAL NEWS For latest news, deals and views, go to

nfrnonline.com

Grocery wholesalers need to raise theirgame and improve their availability orindependent stores are likely to become ahost of ‘mini-mes’, NFRN chief executivePaul Baxter has warned.

In a presentation entitled ‘What doesthe future hold for the customer?’ at IGDWholesaling 2017 in London last month,Mr Baxter told the audience of suppliers,wholesalers and retailers that availabilitywas poorer than ever.

“Wholesalers are trying to dictateranges, and in this way retailers arebecoming more homogenous,” he said.“Yes, there may be different fascias aboveshop doors, but step inside and it’s thesame story.”

In a rallying cry, he said: “You can’t trimour ranges. You can’t make us mini-mes.Consumers want choice.”

For many years, and because of theduopoly in news wholesaling, retailers hadsuffered from poor service and lack ofavailability, but Mr Baxter said that moremembers than ever were complaining thatgrocery ranges were getting smaller andthat certain products were being pushedon them.

“In the long term retailers will be lessindependent and less varied and that’s bad for suppliers and shoppers,” Mr Baxter cautioned.

He said the beauty of the independent

retailer was that they understood theircustomers and engaged with them.

“A good independent will always bebetter than a good corporate because it’stheir money, their passion and theirpeople and they know what needs to bedone,” he explained. “We need to find away that wholesalers can supportindependent retailers so they can do what they need to do and not what you want them to do.”

Independents wanted points ofdifference, such as more new productdevelopment, better availability andbetter pricing. Range reduction for thesake of rationalisation and efficiency wasnot acceptable.

In his final call for action, Mr Baxter saidthat if Amazon could understand anddeliver what millions of customerswanted, suppliers and wholesalers shouldbe able do the same for the retailer.

National publishers and news wholesalers will be invited to share hopes and fears on the future of the supply chainwhen the NFRN holds its next news summit in London next month.

Members’ concerns over delivery times, availability andinsertion payments will also come under the spotlight, withthe emphasis again on the way that publishers andwholesalers need to support independent news retailers.

Head of news Brian Murphy said: “Our regular newssummits play an important role in reminding our supplychain partners of the huge role that NFRN members play inthe industry; enable us to address service failings and tohighlight ways that we can all work together to boost salesand profits in their stores.”

News summits have been held regularly since January 2013.At the last gathering on May 23 this year the NFRN laid barethe impact that late deliveries had on the businesses of HNDretailers and roundsmen. Although the publishers andwholesalers attending were told that arrival times intoretailers had improved during 2017, there was still more to be done to ensure the longevity of the industry.

POPPY APPEAL MEDAL

NEWS SUMMIT RAISESSUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES

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In recognition of her tireless support and fundraising for thePoppy Appeal, Llanidloes retailer Trudy Davies has beenpresented with a Royal British Legion Service medal.

Trudy, of Woosnam & Davies News, is pictured proudlyreceiving the award from Llanidloes Mayor Janet Crisp.

She has devoted an impressive 35 years to supporting theRoyal British Legion and the medal was awarded to her by the national chairman of the Royal British Legion for her‘continued, tireless, loyal and long service’.

A modest Trudy told The Fed: “I am honoured to have beenawarded this from The Poppy Appeal RBL for my work,although it is not hard work when you meet so many greatpeople over the years. It amazes me how generous everyoneis for this very ‘close to my heart’ and worthwhile charity.”

DELIVERING RETAIL CHOICE

OCTOBER 2017 NFRNONLINE.COM 5

NATIONAL NEWS

News in brief

PENSION SCAMBeware of an email entitled Completeyour Declaration that appears to comefrom The Pensions Regulator as it is ascam and should be ignored. The emailcontains a false PAYE number andStaging Date and warns recipients thatthey need to complete a Declaration ofCompliance immediately, with links toenable them to do so. For support andguidance on how to prepare yourbusiness for pension auto enrolment visitthe NFRN website www.nfrnonline.com.

DISTRIBUTOR CLOSUREIt has been confirmed that Comag willcease to distribute magazines fromOctober 31. With just two majormagazine distributors – Frontline andMarketforce – remaining, the NFRN news team is committed to keeping awatching brief to make sure there is nodeterioration in service levels.

LEGAL TENDERDon’t forget that old style £1 coins ceaseto be legal tender from October 15. Afterthen you are no longer obliged to acceptthe round coins from customers and you should not distribute them. Any oldcoins can be deposited at most highstreet banks.

PUZZLE WINNERSWinners of the PuzzleLife Prize Puzzle inthe July 2017 edition of The Fed are JoyceJanes of Bromfield Place, Penarth and B.C.Patel of Grange Road, Ramsgate.Congratulations both, your £50 prize iscurrently winging its way to you. To enterthis month’s competition see page 63.

NORTH WEST DANCENorth West district is holding its annualdinner dance at the Sheridan Suite, 371Oldham Road, Manchester on SundayNovember 5. Tickets can be booked byemailing suleman’[email protected] or [email protected].

LITTER EVIDENCEFollowing an increase in complaints fromretailers receiving tote boxes containinglitter – such as old packaging and evenout of date bread – members are askedto send photographic evidence [email protected]. This will allowthe NFRN to raise concerns with therelevant news wholesaler.

PAYZONE RECONSIDERSCONTRACT CHANGESAfter intense pressure from the NFRN,including the threat of legal action, Payzonebacked down over controversial changesthat it had planned to introduce toaccompany the launch of its new tablet technology.

In late July, the e-payments companywrote to its retail customers introducing itsnew Payzone tablet but also detailingchanges to its terms and conditions,including the lengthening of contracts andan extension to notice periods. Retailerswere given no time to consider the impactsuch radical changes could have on theirbusinesses or to terminate their contractswithout penalty.

The NFRN immediately contactedPayzone outlining concerns and calling onthe company to suspend these changes.When no response was received, legaladvice was taken which clarified that whilePayzone had a right to change contractualterms unilaterally, there was a strongargument against it using this power tolengthen members’ contracts without theirconsent. The NFRN was also told that acourt would be likely to regard Payzone’sattempt to keep members in its network forlonger than previously agreed as an unlawfulrestraint of trade, as well as being in breachof the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

A letter detailing these points – andwarning of possible legal action – was sentfrom the NFRN’s legal advisers.

On August 16 during a ‘full and frank

meeting’ between the NFRN and Payzone,the e-payments company agreed toreconsider and confirmed it would giveretailers a reasonable period of notice toconsider the new contracts and an ability toterminate their current contract withoutpenalty should they consider the newarrangement was not suitable for theirbusiness. Payzone also agreed to a 60 daysnotice period to terminate, as opposed tothe six months initially sought.

Speaking after the meeting NFRN chiefexecutive Paul Baxter praised Payzone forthe ‘constructive way’ that it approachedthe discussions.

“We are supportive of Payzone’stechnology investment and future businessplans and will work with them to ensurethat our members receive fair and equitableterms,” he said.

Work would continue on a number ofimportant clauses and charges still withinthe new contract that the NFRN believedrequired further review, he added.

Payzone chief commercial officer RupertLowery added: “We are totally committedto our core convenience market and havespent millions creating a better retailer andconsumer experience which will bringseveral improvements to retailers.

“We recognise the role the NFRN playsand welcome the chance to get things rightto the benefit of all sides.”

To read more about this NFRN win seepage 40.

Stirling member Mohammed Hussain had ataste of life as a millionaire when his shopwas visited by a group of National Lotterybutlers to celebrate the number of bigwinners in his area.

Bringing a bit of luck and joy to people’sday at Allanwater Papers, the butlers paidfor people’s shopping, helped to carry theirbags and assisted National Lottery playersin choosing their lucky numbers with thehelp of a special gold phone that was onspeed-dial to real local winners.

Since The National Lottery’s launch in1994, Mr Hussain’s FK postcode has seen anincredible 20 National Lottery millionaires.

He said: “We obviously know that aportion of each National Lottery ticket wesell goes towards supporting good causesaround the UK, but we were amazed tofind out the number of millionaires thathave been made in our area.”

Mr Hussain is in the middle of thephotograph on the gold phone, flanked bythe butlers and Camelot representatives.

LOTTERY CELEBRATES FALKIRK WINNERS


NATIONAL NEWS For latest news, deals and views, go to

nfrnonline.com

Officials from the North West district helped kick off a football tournament in aidof the Manchester Arena bomb victims.

More than 40 junior football teams from East Lancashire took part in the Unitethe Community event at Witton Park in Blackburn to help raise funds for victims ofthe May Manchester terror attack.

District president Paresh Vyas, deputy vice president Salma Patel and nationalcouncillor Suleman Khonat presented some of the 100 trophies handed out to thewinners and runners up.

Mr Vyas said: “The events at the Manchester Arena on May 22 after the ArianaGrande concert were truly shocking so the district was pleased to get involved insuch a worthwhile event and to help raise money for victims and their families.”

Four branches – Blackburn, Manchester and Oldham, East Lancs and NorthManchester – generously donated £500 each to help victims.

The NFRN’s programme of networkingevents is being enhanced for 2018 thanksto an exciting tie up with food and drinkwholesaler Booker.

During each quarter there will be onetrade show each in Booker depots in thenorth, south, east and west of the UK. Thismeans the two companies are combiningfor a total of 16 events during 2018.

At each, there will be special offers forNFRN members along with the chance tomeet suppliers to hear more about theirlatest products and services.

Announcing the partnership, nationalevents manager Nigel Smith said: “Thisyear we have been delighted to host somegreat trade shows in cash and carries andnews wholesalers all over the UK and thehundreds of members who have comealong have benefited by seeing forthemselves new products and promotionsand hearing more about the NFRN’s RetailStandards programme, the national lotteryand how they can enhance theirnewspaper and magazines offering. We arevery excited about our new tie up withBooker and look forward to meeting evenmore NFRN members, and togethershowing them new ways in which they canimprove their businesses.”

Players must be 16 or over. Terms and Conditions, Game Rules and Procedure Apply. The Health Lottery scheme manages 51 society lotteries that operate in rotation and each represents a different geographical region of Great Britain. For more details on which society lottery is running each week please visit healthlottery.co.uk or ask your Health Lottery retailer.

DISPLAY OF THIS LICENCE IS A REQUIREMENT OF YOUR AUTHORITY TO SELL HEALTH LOTTERY TICKETS

SOCIETY LOTTERY CALENDAR 2017/18

This licence is valid from 08 July 2017 to 02 June 2018 and covers the sale of tickets for the following draws

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tickets on behalf of the Society Lotteries listed below.

Any failure to display this Licence in a clearly visible manner will result

in the retailer having its authority to sell tickets revoked.

Please ensure that all staff are trained about the importance of the display of this Licence.

Every member of staff selling Health Lottery tickets is expected to be able to advise players

and point out the Licence when asked which Society Lottery is offering a draw.

The schedule below is subject to change

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22 Jul

HealthEngage

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29 Jul

HealthWin

East Yorkshire & Humberside

05 Aug

HealthSuccess

Norfolk

12 Aug

HealthContact

Devon

19 Aug

HealthStrong

Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire

26 Aug

HealthFull

Somerset & Dorset

02 Sep

HealthTotal

Gloucestershire

09 Sep

HealthRich

South Yorkshire

16 Sep

HealthFreedom

South West London

23 Sep

HealthExpect

South West Wales

30 Sep

HealthRegard

Nottinghamshire

07 Oct

HealthPromote

North East London

14 Oct

HealthLevel

North Yorkshire

21 Oct

HealthHope

North Central London

28 Oct

HealthWish

Sussex

04 Nov

HealthCalm

Derbyshire

11 Nov

HealthPerfect

Cornwall & Plymouth

18 Nov

HealthComplete

Lincolnshire

25 Nov

HealthHeal

Lancashire

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HealthDesire

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HealthShape

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HealthTogether

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HealthReward

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HealthKind

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HealthFair

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HealthImprove

Durham & Teesside

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HealthCommit

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough

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HealthControl

South East Wales

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HealthSound

Surrey

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HealthThrive

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HealthBloom

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HealthForm

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HealthEquality

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HealthBelief

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HealthWisdom

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NETWORKINGEVENTS 2018

KICK OFF FOR BOMB VICTIMS

Until October 31 a new Health Lotterypromotion will give customers the chanceto claim two-for-one day passes to topMerlin Entertainment attractions.

Everybody Wins sees each HealthLottery transaction generate a code thatwill enable customers to redeem an onlinevoucher for Alton Towers resort or AltonTowers Scarefest, Thorpe Park or ThorpePark Fright Nights and Warwick Castle.

There is no limit on the number of two-for-one tickets a player may claim. All thecustomer needs to do is to hold on totheir ticket; go to www.healthlottery.co.ukto set up, or access their Health Lotteryaccount and enter the promotion codewhich is found on their ticket. A link willthen pop up which will take them to theEverybody Wins page where they simplyenter their email address and confirm. Theywill then receive a unique code and a linkto the Merlin booking page. Details of theoffer will appear on the front of the ticketduring the promotion period.

A poster promoting the initiative can befound inside this issue of The Fed.

Asking Health Lottery retailers inEngland, Wales and Scotland to display thisprominently in store, the Health Lottery’sGary Troman said: “Everybody Wins is sureto see sales of Health Lottery tickets soar!”

Meanwhile, new Retailer Licences are being distributed by the HealthLottery’s sales team and these also need to be sited in view of customers in stores. This Licence is a GamblingCommission approved item that must bedisplayed to enable retailers to legally selltickets and pay prizes for The HealthLottery. This new version is valid until June2018. Again, a copy of the Retail Licence isbeing distributed in this edition of The Fed. Any member who does not offer The Health Lottery but would like to do so, or retailers wanting further information or additional point of sale material should call the Retailer Helpline on 0843 216 6500.

WITH THE HEALTH LOTTERY ‘EVERYBODY WINS’

NATIONAL NEWS


Six national newspapers – The Guardian, i,Mail, Sun, The Telegraph and The Times –have joined forces to drive home newsdelivery across the country.

The new delivermynewspaper.co.ukwebsite is designed to be a recognisablebrand for consumers and retailers alike,communicating promotions and offerswhile investing in the future of thenewspaper category.

Significant investment has been made inlaunching the site and the participatingpublishers are contributing towards thefunding for the ‘six weeks free deliveryoffer’ for every customer, and rolling out asuite of POS to retailers up and down thecountry to advertise the service.

Speaking on behalf of thedelivermynewspaper initiative MailNewspapers head of retail sales and trademarketing Paul Duffy said: “We are fullycommitted to growing HND across theretail estate. The launch of this national

solution allows readers to identify theirlocal HND retailer and there is anintroductory offer to help facilitate thetransition from a casual sale to a regulardelivered copy.

“In addition, readers can now easilyidentify their local HND shop if they movehouse or area, ensuring it keeps thecustomer within the HND network ratherthan losing them.

“HND is, and will continue to be, a hugepart of independent retailers operations,”Mr Duffy continued. “It is key that aspublishers we collaborate to build on thisplatform to help sustain and grow theexisting HND base across the channel.”

Over the coming year publishers willidentify delivery black spots across thecountry and share these with the NFRN tohelp identify members that may be ableto offer a service within these areas.

Pledging support for the new initiative,NFRN chief executive Paul Baxter said:

“This website supports our independentretailers in providing and growing theconvenience of home delivery tonewspaper readers across the country on a daily basis.”

UNITY TO PROMOTE HOME DELIVERY

DAY TRIP TO SAY ‘THANKS’Northern news deliverers enjoyed all the fun of the fair with a day trip to FlamingoLand theme park and zoo near Pickering, North Yorkshire on Sunday July 9.

The annual trip, organised by Northern district’s social committee, gave membersthe chance to say thank you to their hard working and conscientious youngemployees, and more than 150 youngsters went along.

District president Mike Brown said afterwards: “The weather was great andeveryone enjoyed a brilliant day out. Many thanks to Menzies Distribution andSmiths News for, again, sponsoring the transport, and thanks to Booker, Stocktonfor supplying goodie bags for the Teesside coach.”

HOME DELIVERYHAVE YOUR SAYHome news delivery – whether provided by independent retailers orroundsmen – is a vital communityservice for millions of consumers, buttoday, and for many reasons, it is underincreasing pressure.

To get a full understanding of why this is so and to enable the NFRN toconsider what steps can be taken toensure the longevity of this valuableservice, we are running a short survey onour website and via NFRN Connect.

If you currently offer an HND servicewe would welcome your input. We wantto know how many HND customers youhave, the type of customer that youdeliver to and how your deliveries aredone – for example, by schoolchildren,adults, pensioners or yourself – and how all these factors have changed over thepast 10 years.

We would also be keen to hear moreabout the issues that are impacting on your ability to provide a good HND service.

Any information that you provide will be treated privately and will only be used with your express permissionbeing obtained. To participate please visit

www.nfrnonline.com/hnd-survey orphone 0800 121 6376.

www.shoplinkonline.co.uk

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LOCAL NEWS

Two youngsters have been given the chanceto follow their dreams thanks to NFRNEmpowering Young People grants.

While Ronan Donoghue from Melsonbyin North Yorkshire experienced a once in a lifetime trip to Peru with CampsInternational this summer, promising kickboxer James Gayles is off to Dublin thismonth (October) to take part in aprestigious competition.

As part of his four week visit in July andAugust, Ronan trekked to Machu Picchu, theIncan citadel set high in the AndesMountains, and participated in community,wildlife and environmental project work.

To pay for the £4,170 trip, Ronan, whodelivers newspapers for Barton Stores andPost Office in Richmond, North Yorkshire,applied for an Empowering Young Peoplegrant to supplement the money he hadraised through his paper round, car washingand bag packing and by asking for cash forChristmas and birthday gifts presents. TheNFRN donated £400 towards the trip.

His mother Elizabeth told the NFRN thatRonan had had an ‘amazing’ time.

“He completed projects working onbuilding bathrooms, irrigational channelsand a community centre. He successfullyachieved the four day trek into MachuPicchu despite forest fires on other trails; he spent some time on a reed island onLake Titicaca and enjoyed learning aboutlocal customs.”

Endorsing Ronan’s application, employerDarren Wool said the teenager wascommitted to his job and deliverednewspapers in all weathers. “As well aslearning new skills and languages, he will

have the satisfaction of knowing he hasmade improvements that otherwise wouldnot have been able to take place.”

Meanwhile, thanks to his EmpoweringYoung People Grant, James is off tocompete in the world martial artsorganisation (WMO) World Championshipsin Dublin. James, 13, has been kickboxing for nine years and since 2016 has beencompeting at national and internationallevel.

He delivers newspapers for News2U inLeeds and his employers Martyn and KateBrown nominated him for an NFRN grant tohelp pay for travel, accommodation,equipment and tournament fees.

Mrs Brown (pictured right with James)explained: “James has been working for usfor about six months and through hiskickboxing we have seen him grow into aconfident young man.

“James is the current World Champion forU12s (under 45 kilos). He has now moved upa grade to 13 to 17 years of age and has wonthe British title, so we are hoping for greatthings for him.

“Applying for an Empowering YoungPeople grant was very straight forward. Itwas very rewarding to be able to informJames’ parents that a grant was to beawarded.”

Through the NFRN Empowering YoungPeople scheme financial support is availableto young people who are keen to pursueopportunities in a number of areas includingeducation, welfare, culture and sport.Contributions are made via the CarlBridgewater Fund.

NFRN benefits chairman Peter Wagg said:

“These two examples highlight what theCarl Bridgewater Fund is all about – buildingthe character of young people. What betterway to remember Carl Bridgewater than toaward grants like these?”

Application forms for Empowering YoungPeople grants are available from NFRNConnect by telephoning 0800 121 6376 oremailing [email protected]. Mr Waggurged members to nominate deservingyoung employees.

Newspaper boy Carl, 13, died afterapparently disturbing a burglary at Yew TreeFarm, near Stourbridge in 1978.

See letters on page 12.

CUP WIN FOR ATHLETE

YOUNG PEOPLE GRANTSEMPOWER DELIVERERS

Promising athlete Issuf Sanha of Great Yarmouth High School isjumping for joy after being chosen as this year’s recipient of theForeman Cup, which is presented annually by the EasternCounties North East branch.

Issuf is pictured receiving his trophy from branch presidentDebbie Turner and secretary Ralph Childs.

This prestigious award was created by the former GreatYarmouth branch in memory of secretary Wilf Foreman and ispresented to a local school athlete from the town who meets orcomes close to national standard in their sport.

Last year the Great Yarmouth branch merged with Norwich andLowestoft to form the new Eastern Counties North East branch.

Issuf, who is in year 10, excels in two sports – the long jump andrunning. His personal best is 11.3 seconds for 100 metres and hehas jumped 6.03 metres.



TRADE SHOWS

HOWZAT! FOR A SUMMER OF SOThis summer’s NFRN social events have ranged from atrade show and tour of Menzies Distribution’soperation in Wakefield to a barbecue in Windsor GreatPark for Berks and Bucks members.

Northern retailers and their families and friendscould relax to the gentle sound of leather on willowwith a trip to Durham Cricket Club for a Nat West T20match between the Durham Jets and Birmingham Bears.

Canny shoppers snapped up great deals on back to school offers at a trade day held at Suman Bros in Watford.

Menzies TradeShow and tour

T20 cricket action at Durham


TRADE SHOWS

FUN PACKEDCIAL EVENTS

BBQ in Windsor Great Park

Suman BrosTrade Show

TALKS TERMINATEDAs announced by John Menzies on August14 2017, talks with DX plc over the possiblecombination of Menzies Distribution andDX have been terminated.

Following a trading update issued by DXon July 14 2017 we undertook additional duediligence work into the proposed deal.

After completing that work it becameapparent to us that any transaction wouldneed to be completed on different terms tothose which we jointly announced in June.

Despite the fact that we continue tobelieve there is a strong strategic logic forcombining the businesses, and despitefurther discussion with DX plc, the JohnMenzies Board does not believe it iscurrently possible to agree a revised set ofterms which would be in the interests ofour shareholders.

Menzies Distribution remains focused onthe three central objectives which weoutlined in our meeting with the NFRNearlier this year:• Firstly, to build a national network for our

business that develops and supports thelong term sustainability of the route tomarket for our newstrade partners.

• Secondly, to put Menzies Distribution atthe heart of retail logistics and parcels.

• And finally, to continue diversifying ouroperations that enable MenziesDistribution to grow its presence in thenewstrade value chain.While a deal with DX would have

significantly advanced our progress towardsthese objectives, it is by no means the onlyavenue available to us.

Following the termination of these talkswe will continue working on the otheroptions in front of us for the creation of adiverse, national logistics network – onewhich will help us to extend thesustainability and profitability of thenewstrade supply chain.

You, as one of our core newstradepartners, remain critical to our future. I lookforward to sharing the next phase of ourplans with you in due course.

Greg Michael, managing director, Menzies Distribution

DELIVERY DELAYSI have a newsagents in Huntingdon,Cambridgeshire and my deliveries fromSmiths are just going from bad to worse.

For the last two and a half years we havetried to get our deliveries for about 5am sothat we can increase our HND business. Wedid get moved to an earlier slot, from5.45am to 5.15am for a while, but for some

reason Smiths has moved us back to 5.30am (official time). The problem has arisenbecause it has hired another driver – whofor the last two and a half months has beenconsistently late. His normal time to get tous is 5.50am (20 minutes after he should getto us) but this means that if the papers arelate, then he gets to us even later than that,usually arriving at 6.10am, leaving me 20minutes to go through the papers and dothe deliveries.

He has even requested that I call theoffice and request that they change myofficial time to 5.45am so he isn’t markeddown on his timing which I refused to do asI NEED my papers earlier.

I have requested to be moved ontoanother round, which the driver has agreedto and can get the papers to me for 5.15am, but for some reason this has notmaterialised.

My delivery has arrived after 8am five orsix times in the last month because thedriver keeps breaking down – however, thedriver before him, whose van it is, barelyever broke down. This has caused me to losebusiness as I appear to be unreliable to mycustomers. I even lost a paperboy becausethe deliveries were so unreliable, he couldn’tkeep being messed around.

Amit Lodhia, via Facebook

LETTER OF APOLOGYCopy of a letter sent to customers ofSmiths News, Hemel Hempstead depotI am writing to offer an explanation and myapologies for the service issues you mayhave experienced in recent weeks from ourHemel Hempstead depot.

We suffered a number of significantissues recently including power cuts thatleft us significantly behind in the packingand distribution of magazines, and a systemfault on the telephone system that led tocustomers not being able to get through tocustomer services.

Both issues led to service levels thatcustomers should not expect and weapologise for the inconvenience this has caused.

We have reviewed our contingencyplanning for power outages to ensure weminimise any impact on packing anddistribution in the future and corrected thesystem fault in our telephony system.

We are, though, continuing to receivehigher than usual volume of telephonecalls, and to ensure we answer these asquickly as possible, we have placedadditional resources into our CustomerContact Centre.

We have also added additional resourcesto our packing and returns teams to ensurethat we pack and deliver your supplies toyou on time, and to ensure we processyour returns quickly.

Some customers have also been subjectto late delivery of magazines. Whilst rareand as a result disruptive, we work hard toensure that nothing impacts the newspaperdistribution and so have, on occasion,implemented second runs for the magazineproduct from Hemel Hempstead.

Please accept our apologies for theseissues and our assurance that we areworking hard to ensure distribution andcommunication return and stay at a levelacceptable to our customers.

Jim Sinden, Hemel group manager, Smiths News

MARKET SHAREi launched just seven years ago and is a lot younger than its competition, yet in the 16 months of Johnston Press ownershipwe have grown market share in the qualitynewspaper audience from 17 to 20 per cent.

We are now significantly investing in i toensure an even brighter future for ournational newspaper. This includes anexciting relaunch of iWeekend that will seea much more modern, inspirational andinformative weekend reading beingavailable on your shelves for yourcustomers to enjoy. We will also beinvesting in our weekday content in orderto provide readers with the news, commentand features they have told us they want.

We are hugely appreciative of yourcontinued loyalty and support for i, Britain’sonly concise quality newspaper, and as westart to look forward towards 2018 we arecommitted to bring even more valuablecustomers into your shops.

I circulation, Northcliffe House

EMPOWERING PERURonan has returned from an amazingexpedition to Peru, where he completedprojects building bathrooms, irrigationchannels and a community centre. Hesuccessfully achieved the four day trek intoMachu Picchu despite forest fires on othertrails. He spent some time on a reed islandon Lake Titicaca and enjoyed learning aboutlocal customs.

Thank you for your support of thisexpedition.

Liz Donoghue, mother of Ronan Donoghue, Empowering Young

People Grant recipient

Have your say email [email protected]

HAVE YOUR SAY



POLITICAL ISSUES

Republic of Ireland officials and membersreiterated their calls for an ombudsman forretailers at a meeting with minister KevinMoran at the Dáil Éireann in July.

During the meeting, the NFRNdelegation – comprising district presidentPeter Steemers, district public affairscommittee chairman Martin Mulligan andretailers Packie Doherty and Bob Murphy –detailed the everyday challenges thatindependent retailers faced and the‘decisive’ actions required from thegovernment to overcome them.

Mr Moran heard that the creation of anombudsman could help to ensure retailers’views on issues as diverse as licensing,taxation and competition were heard byministers.

The NFRN explained how retailers werefacing increased payroll costs, electricitybills, banking charges and insurancepremiums at a time of heightened

legislation and falling margins. Risingdelivery charges meant that retailers werenow paying an average of €7,000 per yearfor their newspaper and magazine supplies.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Steemerssaid: “Independent retailers feel embattledand attacked from all sides with no part ofthe government looking out for them. Wewant an ombudsman that we can go to ifwe believe that new government regulationis overly burdensome, unfair or if theactions, or inactions of other governmentbodies, such as the competition authorities,will damage our sector.

“We believe that by having anombudsman, confidence in the future ofthe sector can be rebuilt, bringing with itnew investment and innovation thatbenefits not just retailers but consumersand the communities we serve. It was apositive meeting and we were pleased tohear Mr Moran pledge his support.”

Yorkshire retailers were able to airconcerns about crime when David Smith,a member of the West Yorkshire policeand crime commissioner’s team, attendedthe district’s July council meeting.

One of the issues discussed was theremoval of a crime-busting initiative thatenabled retailers to warn each otherwhen shoplifters or robbers were on theprowl. Clarification was also sought overmeasures that shop owners and staff cantake to defend themselves if attacked.

Members also shared fears thatretailers who rang 999 to report crimeswere not being treated as emergencies.

Data collected by the NFRN andtabled at the meeting revealed thatbetween January 1 and April 30 this yearthere had been 64 incidents of retailersor staff in West Yorkshire conveniencestores or newsagents being attacked,either physically or verbally, and 6,414shoplifting incidents.

Mr Smith, who is the third sectoradviser, promised to raise all the district’s concerns with West Yorkshirepolice and crime commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson.

NFRN PRESSES MINISTERFOR OMBUDSMAN

CRIME DATARAISES ISSUES

Efforts by the NFRN to get the government to support smallershops in England who charge consumers for single use plasticbags have come a step closer following a meeting with civilservants at the Department for Food, Environment and RuralAffairs (DEFRA).

Despite an NFRN campaign, small independent retailers wereexcluded from government requirements to charge for carrierbags when the levy was introduced in England in October 2015.Under the legislation, only retailers employing over 250employees are required to enforce the 5p charge. However,under schemes in other parts of the UK, independent retailersdo charge their customers for plastic bags.

The NFRN is aware that since the levy came in manyenvironmentally friendly members have chosen to implement acharge, with the proceeds donated to local good causes.

Now the Federation wants the government to support theseretailers by getting behind a voluntary code that helps retailers

to make clear to their customers what they are being charged,and where the proceeds are donated.

At the meeting the officials told the NFRN that ministers are,in principle, supportive of the proposed scheme and that theyshare the desire to work with other trade associations to garnersupport across the retail sector.

While this indication of support is extremely welcome, morework has still to be done to agree the details with ministers andto encourage other trade associations to get their membersinvolved. The NFRN is confident, however, that with the schemehaving the backing of DEFRA, other retail groups will want topromote it to their members.

The NFRN had also hoped that ministers would consider achange in the regulations to bring independent retailers withinthe requirements of the levy. It has become clear, however, thatthere is not enough parliamentary time available for any changesto be made.

CARRIER CODE MOVES CLOSER

Pictured left to right are Packie Docherty, Martin Mulligan, Peter Steemers and Bob Murphy.

The NFRN wants to actively engage in discussions on systemsthat enable shoppers to cash in their old drinks bottles andcans to ensure the best possible outcome for independentretailers, explained chief executive Paul Baxter.

“We are at the forefront so we can understand how any suchschemes will work,” he said. “It’s important that retailers areinvolved from the beginning so we can fully understand thebenefits and agree who should be exempt. We want to makesure that those who want to participate can, and thosemembers who want to be exempt are exempt.”

Under deposit returns schemes shoppers pay a small depositthat is refunded once an empty bottle or can is returned.

Mr Baxter said retailers participating in such schemes wouldbenefit because customers returning their bottles and canswould be likely to use the money refunded in their shops.

National councillors supported the NFRN’s stance onentering discussions on deposit returns schemes.

Scottish national councillor David Woodrow said it was vitalthat the NFRN was part of any working group so members’

views and concerns could be aired.Jason Birks from Northern district agreed, adding that it was

‘very progressive’ of the NFRN to be involved. “England mayfollow suit so it is important that the scheme is shaped in theway that we want it run, and that we get the best formembers,” he said.

Peter Robinson from Wales said the benefits for independentretailers were huge, although there could be achallenge in physically siting themachines. “Customers are going tospend the money they get backfrom depositing their returns inmy shop. It’s a real salesopportunity. It’s not afinancial drain. Gettinginvolved is the right thing to do.”To read more about depositreturn schemes visit page 28.


NATIONAL COUNCIL

Supply chain injusticesAs the champion of the independent retail sector it is critical that the NFRNhighlights and tackles unfairness through-out all supply chains, said NationalPresident Linda Sood.

In her wide ranging opening address toNational Council she vowed that:“throughout the coming year the NFRNwill continue to address any injustices thatwe are made aware of.”

The NFRN had responded ‘quickly anddecisively’ to the news that Smiths Newswas hiking its carriage charges by anaverage of nearly 4 per cent, adding that it was inconceivable for retailers to beexpected to fork out yet more to the news supplier for a service that at best was ‘inadequate’.

“If Smiths News used the money itrecovered from carriage charges to trulyinvest and improve its business, then such

charges might not be as difficult tocomprehend, although they would stillremain unpalatable,” Mrs Sood said. “The recent performances from its new Birmingham and Hemel hubsdemonstrates that this is far from the case.”

As well as continuing to challenge thenews wholesaler to think again, she saidshe would be urging publishers to “thinklong and hard about the way the newssupply chain operates and to explore otherways to fund wholesalers that does notinvolve piling yet more costs on hardpressed retailers”.

The NFRN’s concerns about theforthcoming duopoly in the magazinedistribution sector, with powerconcentrated between Frontline andMarketforce once Comag ceased tooperate by the end of the year, would beshared with the competition authorities,

Mrs Sood promised. She also said the newsteam would keep a watchful eye to ensurethere was no deterioration in services.

With some trade events planned for theremainder of the year and with someexciting plans for 2018, she urged nationalcouncillors to encourage members in therelevant districts to attend.

“I know that we can equip our memberswith all the skills, knowledge and servicesthey require so they can react positivelydespite the challenging trading environ-ment and benefit from even moreprofitable and successful businesses,” Mrs Sood said.

She finished her address with a plea fornational councillors to lend their support.

“Progress can only happen if we work together, so I invite you today to all play a part in the future success of the NFRN, and more importantly of theindependent retailer.”

AUTUMN UPDATE

LIVERPOOL PLAYED HOST TO THELATEST NATIONAL COUNCILMEETING ON SEPTEMBER 4 AND 5AND THE FED WENT ALONG TOREPORT ON DISCUSSIONS

NFRN TO DISCUSS DEPOSIT SCHEMES

Jason Birks

Proposed mergerThe investigation by competitionwatchdogs into the £3.7 billion merger of Tesco and Booker should be extendedinto the whole of the grocery supply chain,proposed Peter Robinson.

“The independent supply chain ischanging so quickly and fundamentally sothe Competition and Markets Authorityshould widen the enquiry,” he said.

In addition to the proposed Tesco andBooker move, the Co-op is currently inexclusive talks to take over Nisa, while the future of delivered wholesaler Palmer & Harvey hangs in the balance.

Mr Robinson felt these developmentswarranted a wider investigation by the CMA.

“I would question how many smaller cash and carries will be in existence in twoor three years time,” Mr Robinson said,adding: “The CMA should widen its briefand look at the supply of grocery toindependent retailers.”

Chief executive Paul Baxter said theNFRN could draft a letter of concern to theCMA about the general shape of its inquiry.

Asked about the NFRN’s view of theproposed Tesco and Booker merger, MrBaxter said that it was welcomed, providedit led to better service, better choice andbetter prices for independent retailers.However, he added: “There is always

concern when supermarkets are involved in distribution.”

Some members expressed concern aboutproduct availability in Booker depots sincethe merger was announced earlier this year.

According to Julia Bywater: “The range haschanged and there is empty shelving,” whileHitesh Pandya added: “We have noavailability or variety.”

Naresh Purohit said Booker in Crayfordwas now for caterers only. “The nearestdepot will be Sidcup. That’s totally out oforder,” he said.

Mr Baxter said members’ concerns aboutavailability would be raised at his nextmeeting with Booker.

Unveiling the tie-up with Booker inJanuary, Tesco said it would create ‘the UK’sleading food business’ and deliver significantcost savings for the combined group.

National Express termsOn behalf of members in the WestMidlands, head of operations MargaretMcCloskey said the NFRN had gone intobattle with National Express over its plansto slash the margin that retailers receive forselling smart tickets.

Membershad advisedthe NFRNthat fromSeptember 1 retailterms were being cutfrom 34p to between 10p and 20p,depending on the type of ticket sold.Retailers would also be forced to pay thecoach operator by direct debit rather thanpaying cash into a National Express account.

Mrs McCloskey said that having receivedlegal advice, the NFRN had informedNational Express that it could not changeretailers’ terms unilaterally and wastherefore operating in breach of contract.

She added that to open up discussions,the NFRN was seeking a meeting withNational Express.


Celebrations for the NFRN’s centenary in 2019 will involve as manymembers as possible, said head of events Mike Mitchelson(pictured right).

To mark its 100th anniversary, the NFRN was proposing to holda major celebration in London, with a second event in the northlater in the year.

Mr Mitchelson said: “We want to get as many membersinvolved as possible, including those who have been heavilyinvolved over the years.

“Hosting a major event in London would enable politicians andsenior industry figures to attend,” he added, explaining: “It’s agreat chance to get MPs and business leaders along.”

National councillors agreed that the capital should be one ofthe venues for the celebrations.

Peter Robinson said: “London is the right city for our centenaryif we want to get the great and the good from government andthe trade to attend.”

Mr Mitchelson said the venue for the NFRN’s 100th AnnualConference in June 2019 was currently being explored, withBournemouth, Torquay and Brighton in the running.

National councillors were also advisedthat next year’s spring national councilmeeting would be held at theMarriott Hotel in Bournemouth onTuesday April 17 and WednesdayApril 18, while the NFRN wouldreturn to Torquay for the 2018 Annual Conference.

CAUSE FOR 100 YEAR CELEBRATION

NATIONAL COUNCIL

Peter Robinson Julia Bywater

After a meeting between the NFRN andNational Express the direct debit proposalwas dropped. While the margin cut will goahead, a working group has been set up toexplore new revenue opportunities foraffected National Express retailers.

LATEST UPDATE


Lobbying and meetingsLobbying activity is being stepped up toincrease awareness of the NFRN and itsmembership, and to ensure that politiciansbetter understand the hardships thatindependent retailers are facing and theeffect that government decisions can haveon their businesses.

Chairman of public affairs andcommunications Mike Mitchelson said thata dinner would be held in the House ofCommons Dining Room with invitationsissued to specific MPs and ministers whowere sympathetic to the plight ofindependent retailers and who would helpto highlight the NFRN’s concerns inparliament.

In addition to this, and following theelection of new MPs after this year’sGeneral Election, the NFRN would hold aparliamentary reception in Westminster inFebruary. This would coincide with theFebruary national council meeting andwould take place in the late afternoon orearly evening rather than the lunchtimereceptions the NFRN had previously held.

The NFRN’s plans to meet with all policeand crime commissioners (PCCS) in Englandand Wales would continue, said MrMitchelson, and it was hoped that theNFRN could secure a speaking slot at theAssociation of Police and CrimeCommissioners Annual Conference.

Mr Mitchelson appealed for all NFRNmembers to play their part by meeting withtheir local MPs and PCCS to remind them ofthe challenges facing independent retailers.

Trade show successesNFRN trade shows run in conjunction withcash and carry companies and at newswholesale depots throughout 2017 weregiven a massive thumbs-up.

Yorkshire national councillor AndrewTaylor said: “The trade show at Wakefieldwas a fantastic success. Lots of membersturned up and got lots of benefit from it.It’s just the sort of thing the district needs.”

Immediate past president Ray Monelleagreed. “We have held several eventsthroughout the country and have seen a lot

of members that we haven’t previously seenat branch meetings. These trade shows areproving to be a real success.”

Cover pricesMembers affected by vicious margin cutson regional newspapers should overprice,said Yorkshire national councillor JamesWilkinson.

“To get our margin up this is the onlyaction we can take,” he said.

His Yorkshire colleague Andrew Tayloragreed, adding: “Overpricing is definitely theway to go.”

Some national councillors expressedconcern, saying that increasing the coverprice of a newspaper could send customersto competing shops.

Peter Robinson disagreed and said thatnews retailers should not shy away fromoverpricing. “There is no downside. Peopleuse our shops because we are convenient.”

He added that the NFRN should lobbythe government for the removal of fixedcover prices. Publishers liked to have controlof the cover price, he added.

Trading card sales opportunitiesIndependent retailers can score by stockingMatch Attax trading cards, head of newsBrian Murphy said.

“Many outlets have given up stockingthese products but there are realopportunities to be had. Match Attaxtrading cards saw growth of 16.5 per centlast year while sales of gifting tins were upby 176 per cent.”

There was a new trading opportunity forMatch Attax stockists in the run up toChristmas, with advent calendars priced at£20, which previously have only beenavailable in Tesco.

All NFRN members were encouraged to consider stocking trading cards.

“We want members to becomedestination retailers, so if you are notstocking Match Attax I would ask that youthink long and hard about it. And why notbecome a swap shop and hold Match Attaxevents in your store?” Mr Murphy said.

Councillors endorse N3N3 received ringing endorsements from four national councillors who said thatjoining the company had transformed their businesses.

Steve Archer said newspaper andmagazine sales had been in decline in hisstores, but on N3 advice, and after a shoprefit he had reduced his news run by onethird and cut the number of publicationsstocked from 600 to 300. His turnover wasnow up by 15 per cent.

“My range is better than it’s ever beenand I am getting the right supply, but thebiggest saving is to my time. Thank you N3,”he said.

Leeds roundswoman and sub retailer KateBrown said belonging to N3 meant she onlyreceived the titles she was meant to get,while Gwen Patterson said that it hadproved a ‘lifeline’ for the Northern Irelandretailers who were members. “We fullysupport it. Poor sellers have been cut outand members can refocus their businesses.”

Derby news retailer Alan Smith describedN3 as “the best thing the Federation hasdone in years. We have seen business goingforward. Any retailer who is serious aboutnews and magazines should join N3.”

N3 chairman John Parkinson said thecompany was progressing well, membershipnumbers were increasing steadily and N3retailers continued to outperform theircompetitors.

N3 director Brian Murphy added thatthere was a 60 per cent discount for NFRNmembers wishing to be members. Theycould join for just 54p a day.

Insurance coverThe Retail Mutual had witnessedexceptional growth, with the number ofcovers rising to 4,804 – an increase of 552 or13 per cent increase in 12 months, reportedchairman Peter Wagg.

Its aim now was to move to the next

NATIONAL COUNCIL

Alan Smith

GwenPatterson

Steve ArcherAndrew Taylor


Talks are progressing with Bira (the British Independent Retail Association) overthe possibility of launching an NFRN bank, chief executive Paul Baxter told themeeting. He also explained that the NFRN held regular meetings with Bira andthe Forum of Private Business as all organisations faced similar challenges and allwere keen to explore opportunities to campaign against these collectively.

Changing legislation means that members in England and Wales will have to optout if they do not wish to belong to the NFRN’s Primary Authority Scheme,warned head of public affairs and communications Adrian Roper.Communications will be sent out to members explaining that in future, ratherthan having to register for the scheme, which is run in partnership with theLondon borough of Islington, they will be automatically opted in.

New advice on food hygiene and on protectingbusinesses against credit card fraud and retail crimehave been added to the NFRN’s comprehensive RetailStandards library, advised head of operations MargaretMcCloskey. The new additions are a Food HygieneChecklist, a Credit Card Fraud Prevention documentand a Retail Crime Risk Assessment. All three can bedownloaded from NFRNOnline.

To date, the NFRN Credit Union has lent £263,000 to members, reporteddirector Ralph Patel. However, as the amount it can lend is restricted to £12,000,the Credit Union is keen to explore new ways of assisting retailers in financingshop refits. He reminded national councillors that the Credit Union offered anopportunity to save as well as borrow money.

National Council in brieflevel so it was seen as a one stop shop forall insurance needs.

Its common bond had been extended soanyone connected to independent retailers,family members, colleagues and staff, andeven suppliers were eligible to join.

Mr Wagg expressed disappointment thatthere were more than 5,000 NFRN memberswho never contacted The Retail Mutual fora quote.

“While I do not expect every NFRNmember to place their home, business orrental property cover with the Mutual, I dohope that every NFRN member will at leastask the Mutual to quote before renewingtheir insurance cover,” Mr Wagg said. And headded: “If the Mutual is not competitive thisyear, always get another quote next year,because insurance premiums fluctuate.”

Four clear objectivesProviding NFRN members with enhancedmargins, income and support was whatNFRN Commercial was all about, said newchairman Ray Monelle.

He reminded national councillors that theNFRN subsidiary company had four clearobjectives: to increase members’ profits;reduce their operating costs; support storedevelopment and contribute to theoperating costs of the NFRN.

Assistance was available to helpindependent retailers transform their stores,and since 2011, NFRN Commercial hadundertaken 341 full store refits; 485 partialrefits; 150 post office conversions and hadoffered advice and consultations to 869members.

Through Shoplink Online, NFRN Directand store development, NFRN Commercialprovided a platform to support customerswith all their purchasing needs.

National councillors called for representations to the Daily Mail over its policyof offering free CDs to readers that could only be collected from majorsupermarkets. West Midlands retailer Julia Bywater said: “This drives my salesdown.” Chief executive Paul Baxter promised to raise the issue with thepublisher, adding: “We would like to find ways of making these promotions workin independents.”

In February 2017, WHSmith launched a wholesale business called ‘WHSmith Wholesale’. Joining WHSmith Wholesale gives retailers the opportunity to use the WHSmith brand to their advantage. As one of the best known retailers in the UK, WHSmith will give its wholesale customers access to the best, edited selection of their core high street ranges covering cards, stationery essentials,

envelopes and packaging, special purchase books and seasonal and promotional products.

WHSmith Wholesale gives retailers:

Access to the best products from WHSmith’s high street stores at wholesale prices, including cards, stationery essentials, envelopes and packaging, special purchase books, seasonal and promotional products.The ability to pick and choose the ranges which are right for individual stores.Access to the WHSmith brand on the store fascia, or on a window vinyl.Access to the WHSmith Wholesale online ordering system.Support on merchandising and implementation.

The support I received during set up was excellent; the team who attended were very

helpful and the transition was smooth.

Mr Gurvinder Sandher,

We have seen a big improvement in sales since going the WHSmith route, with big

growth in high margin categories likestationery.

Ashwin and Rita Patel,Royal Wootton Bassett

A BRANDED WHOLESALE OFFER FOR EXISTING AND NEW INDEPENDENT RETAILERS

“ “““

Results to date have been fantastic and there are a variety of formats that could work for:

Independent Retailers who are looking for

through a mix of range management.

who are looking for ranges that are market leading and complement their customers needs.

who want to offer a more diverse range of product within their stores.

As part of WHSmith Wholesale, there are two retail brands:

is ideal for Independent

WHSmith Stationery is ideal for

retailers.

The refreshed layout of the store is complemented by strong products and good

branding. My customers are pleased to have an offer of WHSmith stationery, cards and

bestselling books now available.

Mr Gurvinder Sandher,

WHSmith branding solutions can be tailored to

options including:

Fully branded fascias Partially branded fascias Window vinyls

““


GUIDE TO MAGAZINES

THE FED’S GUIDE TOTHE NEWSPAPER ANDMAGAZINE MARKET

“I am the proprietor of Family ShopperBlantyre in Glasgow. I am also a member ofN3 and would like to tell you my experiences.

“N3 has been a boon to my newspaper

and magazines category since joining.Benefits have included my range beinglocally profiled to my store ensuring that Ihave titles based on my sales history andcustomer base. The number of titleswithin the range is also defined by the sizeof my fixture, giving me the correctnumber of titles for my space. This meansthat I have a better display, reduced earlyreturns and better availability of the titlesmy customers want.

“The consequence of this is my storeoutperformed the rest of the independentsector by 12 per cent for the month ofMay. All this with a reduced amount oftime spent on returns means my staff can concentrate on sales.

“Happy days! I would wholeheartedlyrecommend any Family Shopper store who has currently not taken up the current N3 offer to do so as soon as possible so you too can enjoy these benefits.”

SCOTTISH RETAILER MO RAZZAQON BEING AN N3 MEMBER

INVESTING TIME AND EFFORT INTO YOUR MAGAZINE RANGE IS CRITICALFOR STRONG SALES, OR IS IT? AND IS THERE ANOTHER SOLUTION?

There are three main components tobeing a successful magazine retailer –having the right range in the right spaceand having full availability of every title.

But with more than 2,000 consumermagazines in existence – covering a myriadof different categories – and notforgetting business and professionalpublications too, it can be a minefielddeciding which titles should be on yourmagazine shelves and which titles to ditch.

The demise of Comag (see page 5) andthe consolidation of magazine distributioninto just two main companies – Frontlineand Marketforce – will bring with it a newset of account managers with jobs to do,along with a flurry of activity within your store.

While on one hand this is good news, asthe actions are intended to bring positivechanges to the range of magazines you selland the volumes of any titles that youreceive, the reality is that only by investing

time and effort will you stay on top ofyour news category.

Why is this?According to NFRN head of news BrianMurphy, the stark reality is that your newswholesaler does not know what sellingspace you have and, therefore, there is astrong possibility that you will be or mayalready be under or over-ranged and so notmaximising your consumer offer.

Basic help is at hand via regular NFRNupdates including the list of the topnational 100 magazines – see pages 25-26 – but if you want more in-depth help,want to gain better control through acontrolled or bespoke range or have access to promotional opportunities, then the NFRN’s subsidiary company N3 is your answer.

N3 removes the pains of managing a newscategory each day. Working with you, N3will ensure that unwanted titles are

removed from your range, releasing muchneeded cash flow while regaining lostrevenue from missing titles or sell outs.Hundreds of pounds can be added to your bottom line as a result! Being an N3store will reduce your need to early returnand, in turn, minimise rejected credits and shrinkage.

N3 results speak for themselves, and as an NFRN member you are now entitled to a massive 60 per cent discount on yourmembership, which is even more if you have more than one store. What’s more,membership is available for 54p a day.

As chairman John Parkinson says: “N3 isthe future for newspapers andmagazines. Join todayand lose the pain!”What are youwaiting for? CallFreephone 0800917 8884 andapply today!!

ALL THISFOR 54pA DAY

0800 917 8884

GUIDE TO MAGAZINES


During mid September regional newspaperpublisher Newsquest persisted with its coverpricing strategy of increases accompanied bya cut in retailers’ percentage margins on titlesin the north of England.

In these instances, price rises of between3p and 25p were accompanied by areduction in margin from 20 per cent to24 per cent.

This action came hot on the heels ofJohnston Press’ decision to slash thepercentage margins that retailer receive on41 of its local newspapers.

So what are the options available toNewsquest stockists? Firstly, it is importantto work out whether you are making aprofit or loss on the affected newspaperproduct and whether it deserves the spaceyou are giving it in-store. Are you making

enough from it proportionally to both coveryour operating costs and to give you areasonable standard of living? You shouldbuild into this equation the value of theproduct in terms of bringing customers intoyour shop to buy other products.

You can then decide whether it is worthcontinuing to stock the product or toimplement your own pricing policy.

Pricing is a very personal decision foreach retailer and the NFRN makes norecommendation on any course of action.We merely remind you that this is an optionavailable to you. Only you can decidewhether overpricing is something that youcan do without causing a customer revolt orlosing business to your competitors.

Fixed printed cover prices are no morethan recommended retail prices so you are

allowed to determine the ultimate sellingprice of the newspaper. This means that you can, if you wish, oversticker the existing price and replace this with a price of your own.

Should you choose to go down this routeyou must completely oversticker theexisting price with the new one so thatcustomers can only see one price.

Following Newsquest’s decision, theNFRN has produced a profit calculator(below) showing the old and new margins,the profit lost and the price that retailerscan charge if they wish to retain theprevious margin.

Even if there haven’t been any changes tocover prices, it’s worth periodically checkingboth the pence-per-copy and percentagemargin on your local and regional titles.

IS OVERPRICING AN OPTION FOR YOU?

Publication Old Price New Price New Margin New PPCPrevious margin

Margin reduction

Price to sell to retain margin

The Press(York) £0.65 £0.68 19.85% 0.135 20.00% 0.15% £0.68

Gazette & Herald £1.00 £1.10 18.25% 0.201 20.00% 1.75% £1.12

Telegraph & Argus( Bradford) £0.65 £0.68 19.85% 0.135 20.00% 0.15% £0.68

Craven Herald £1.00 £1.10 18.25% 0.201 20.00% 1.75% £1.12

Keighley News £0.85 £0.90 19.64% 0.177 20.00% 0.36% £0.90

Ilkley Gazette £1.00 £1.10 18.25% 0.201 20.00% 1.75% £1.12

Whafedale Observer £1.00 £1.10 18.25% 0.201 20.00% 1.75% £1.12

Northern Echo (Sat) £1.10 £1.20 19.07% 0.229 20.00% 0.93% £1.21

Northern Echo (Sat) £1.00 £1.10 20.00% 0.22 21.00% 1.00% £1.11

Darlington & Stockton Times £1.10 £1.15 19.90% 0.229 20.00% 0.10% £1.15



Durham Times £0.60 £0.65 19.20% 0.125 20.00% 0.80% £0.66

öN3 has been a boon tomy newspaper and

magazines categorysince joining. Benefits

have included myrange being locally

profiled to my storeensuring that I have

titles based on my sales history andcustomer base.õ

Mo Razzaq’smagazine display


GUIDE TO MAGAZINES

Taking a look at the latest industry figuresfor magazines can help you to decidewhat you should be positioning on your news shelves.

With Brexit preparations in full swing, itis not surprising that news and currentaffairs titles grabbed the headlines whenthe latest magazine sales were announced.

Audit Bureau of Circulation figures forJanuary to June 2017 revealed Private Eye’scirculation was 249,927 per issue, up 8.6per cent year-on-year and down just 0.1per cent from its record high at the end of last year.

The Economist was up 5 per cent in theUK to 248,196, while sales of Prospect grewan impressive 37 per cent to 44,545.

The sales performances of women’sweeklies and celebrity publications werenot so good. Look was down 35 per cent,Now 21 per cent and Closer 20 per cent.

Thanks to a new look unveiled towardsthe end of 2016, Marie Claire, the premiumfashion title, delivered a total print ABC of154,532, up 1 per cent period-on-period.

In the home interest category, Style atHome climbed 5.3 per cent on the period,posting a total print ABC of 77,518, whileIdeal Home rose by 2.3 per cent on theperiod with a total print ABC of 160,939. Inthe modern homes sector, Living etccemented its number one position with atotal print ABC of 73,483, an increase of0.6 per cent on the period. In thetraditional market, Homes & Gardens salesgrew by 0.2 per cent with a total printABC of 100,341 and 25 Beautiful Homes

increased its total print ABC to 71,447, up0.5 per cent period-on-period.

Radio Times retained its position as themost valuable title on the UK newsstand,with What’s on TV the second biggest TVtitle on the UK newsstand with acirculation of 885,595.

Commenting on the latest industryfigures, Marcus Rich, CEO Time Inc.UK,said: “In this period the ABC results show that innovation and quality editorial continues to win over the hearts of consumers.

“We continue to lead many of themarkets we operate in and have drivenprint sales through a customer focusedstrategy at both retail and throughsubscriptions. By targeting and talking toour consumers at the right time weengage, excite and encourage them toconsume our brands, as well as driveloyalty in the magazine market.”

Bauer Media’s magazine copy salesexceeded 73.3 million this period,prompting group managing director RobMunro-Hall to comment: “We believe inthe enduring consumer appeal ofmagazines and are committed to investingin our existing brands as well as launchingnew ones. In April this year we launchedPlanet Rock magazine, a print extension toour successful radio and events brand,which has been eagerly received by thehighly engaged community of rock fans.”

Despite a cover price increase from £2to £2.20 Mr Munro-Hall said Graziaconsolidated its position at the premium

end of the market, while with print sales of 515,019, Take a Break continued to lead the market as the UK’s numberone, selling more than double its nearest competitor.

Boosted by launch activity, Immediate’sYouth & Children portfolio experienced a10.5 per cent increase year-on-year. Megaproved to be one of the fastest-growingof all consumer magazines, up 26.8 percent year-on-year to 38,102 readers. LegoNexo Knights is up an impressive 23.9 percent year-on year.

Hearst UK said Good Housekeeping,Country Living, Women’s Health andMen’s Health retained their marketleadership positions in each of theirrespective competitive interest sectors,whilst Cosmopolitan remained the highestcirculating young women’s glossy.

James Wildman, CEO of Hearst UK, said:“We believe print magazines have aunique ability to reach, influence andengage consumers and I am delighted thatHearst leads the market in each of ourmonthly magazine competitive sectors. Iam also thrilled to see so many of ourtitles in growth.”

“Whether through our magazines,which are read by more than seven millionpeople a month, via our digital brandswhich reach 17 million monthly uniqueusers, or through our many fabulousevents, our iconic brands continue togrow rapidly and have the ability toprovide trusted content which engagestheir audience wherever they are.”

INDUSTRY SALES DATA CAN HELP YOU CHOOSE

öWith Brexit preparations in full swing, it is not surprisingthat news and current affairs titles grabbed the headlineswhen the latest magazine sales were announced.õ


Title Number of issues Segment Sub segment Current

Ranking

RADIO TIMES 51 TV Listings Radio & TV Listings 1

TV CHOICE 51 TV Listings Radio & TV Listings 2

WHAT’S ON TV 51 TV Listings Radio & TV Listings 3

TAKE A BREAK 52 Women’s Interest Women’s Traditional Weeklies 4

TV TIMES 51 TV Listings Radio & TV Listings 5

HELLO 52 Women’s Interest Women’s Lifestyle/Fashion 6

CELEB BUMP PK 52 Women’s Interest Women’s Celebrity Weeklies 7

CLOSER 52 Women’s Interest Women’s Celebrity Weeklies 8

HEAT 52 Women’s Interest Women’s Celebrity Weeklies 9

WOMANS WEEKLY 51 Women’s Interest Women’s Traditional Weeklies 10

CHAT 51 Women’s Interest Women’s Traditional Weeklies 11

TV + SAT WEEK 51 TV Listings Radio & TV Listings 12

INSIDE SOAP 50 TV Listings Radio & TV Listings 13

PEOPLES FRIEND 52 Women’s Interest Women’s Traditional Weeklies 14

YOURS 26 Women’s Interest Women’s General Interest 15

BELLA 51 Women’s Interest Women’s Traditional Weeklies 16

WOMAN 51 Women’s Interest Women’s Traditional Weeklies 17

THATS LIFE 52 Women’s Interest Women’s Traditional Weeklies 18

WOMAN + HOME 12 Women’s Interest Women’s Practical 19

GRAZIA 52 Women’s Interest Women’s Celebrity Weeklies 20

WOMANS OWN 51 Women’s Interest Women’s Traditional Weeklies 21

TOTAL TV GUIDE 51 TV Listings Radio & TV Listings 22

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 12 Women’s Interest Women’s Lifestyle/Fashion 23

OK 52 Women’s Interest Women’s Celebrity Weeklies 24

NEW 52 Women’s Interest Women’s Celebrity Weeklies 25

MOTORCYCLE NEWS 52 Motoring & Motorcycling Motorcycling – General 26

FROZEN 18 Childrens Magazines Primary Girls 27

ECONOMIST 52 News & Current Affairs Current Affairs – Domestic 28

PRIVATE EYE 26 News & Current Affairs Current Affairs – Domestic 29

NEW SCIENTIST 51 News & Current Affairs Science 30

NOW 52 Women’s Interest Women’s Celebrity Weeklies 31

PEPPA PIG BOF 12 Childrens Magazines Pre-School 32

BEST 52 Women’s Interest Women’s Traditional Weeklies 33

MY WEEKLY 51 Women’s Interest Women’s Traditional Weeklies 34

FUN TO LEARN PEPPA PIG 26 Childrens Magazines Pre-School 35

MY LITTLE PONY 18 Childrens Magazines Primary Girls 36

LEGO NINJAGO 12 Childrens Magazines Primary Boys 37

SLIMMING WORLD 7 Women’s Interest Women’s Slimming 38

CBEEBIES WEEKLY 26 Childrens Magazines Pre-School 39

PUZZLER COLLECTION 14 Puzzle Magazines Puzzles – Mixed Content 40

LOOK 52 Women’s Interest Women’s Celebrity Weeklies 41

PICK ME UP 51 Women’s Interest Women’s Traditional Weeklies 42

LEGO STAR WARS 12 Childrens Magazines Primary Boys 43

NATIONAL ENQUIRER 53 Women’s Interest Women’s Celebrity Weeklies 44

MARIE CLAIRE UK 12 Women’s Interest Women’s Lifestyle/Fashion 45

GLAMOUR 12 Women’s Interest Women’s Lifestyle/Fashion 46

RED 12 Women’s Interest Women’s Lifestyle/Fashion 47

GOOD FOOD 12 Women’s Interest Cookery & Kitchen 48

TAKE A BREAK SPECIAL 12 Women’s Interest Women’s General Interest 49

TOP 100 TITLES YOU SHOULD STOCKGUIDE TO MAGAZINES


GUIDE TO MAGAZINES

Title Number of issues Segment Sub segment Current

Ranking

REVEAL 52 Women’s Interest Women’s Celebrity Weeklies 50

IDEAL HOME 12 Women’s Interest Home Interest 51

REAL PEOPLE 51 Women’s Interest Women’s Traditional Weeklies 52

GARDENERS WORLD 12 Home Improvement Gardening 53

GIRL TALK 25 Childrens Magazines Primary Girls 54

VOGUE 12 Women’s Interest Women’s Lifestyle/Fashion 55

DISNEY PRINCESS 23 Childrens Magazines Primary Girls 56

FARMERS WEEKLY 52 Trade & Professional Trade & Professional 57

PRIMA 12 Women’s Interest Women’s Practical 58

FUN TO LEARN FRIENDS 26 Childrens Magazines Pre-School 59

SHOPKINS 13 Childrens Magazines Primary Girls 60

MATCH OF THE DAY WEEKLY 50 Sport Football – Youth 61

LEGO NEXO KNIG 11 Childrens Magazines Primary Boys 62

ELLE MONTHLY UK 12 Women’s Interest Women’s Lifestyle/Fashion 63

WOMENS HEALTH UK 10 Women’s Interest Women’s Lifestyle/Fashion 64

PAW PATROL 16 Childrens Magazines Pre-School 65

COUNTRY LIVING 12 Women’s Interest Home Interest 66

AUTOCAR 52 Motoring & Motorcycling Motoring – General 67

COSMOPOLITAN 12 Women’s Interest Women’s Lifestyle/Fashion 68

TOXIC 17 Childrens Magazines Pre Teen 69

EMPIRE MAGAZINE 14 Leisure Interests Film & Video Reviews 70

AUTO EXPRESS 51 Motoring & Motorcycling Motoring – General 71

COUNTRY LIFE 52 Countryside & County Countryside & County – National 72

CBEEBIES ART 13 Childrens Magazines Pre-School 73

THOMAS AND FRIENDS 17 Childrens Magazines Pre-School 74

WHAT CAR 13 Motoring & Motorcycling Motoring – General 75

CLASSIC CAR WEEKLY 52 Motoring & Motorcycling Motoring – Classics 76

LEGO SPECIALS 4 Childrens Magazines Pre Teen 77

ANGLING TIMES 52 Sport Angling – Coarse 78

TOP OF THE POPS 13 Childrens Magazines Pre Teen 79

LOVE IT 51 Women’s Interest Women’s Traditional Weeklies 80

CBEEBIES SPECIAL GIFT 13 Childrens Magazines Pre-School 81

GARDEN NEWS 53 Home Improvement Gardening 82

REVEAL+BEST+REALP VAL PK 51 Women’s Interest Women’s Celebrity Weeklies 83

SPECTATOR 51 News & Current Affairs Current Affairs – Domestic 84

YOUR HOME 12 Women’s Interest Home Interest 85

JACQ WILSON 17 Childrens Magazines Primary Girls 86

MENS HEALTH UK 11 Men’s Fashion/Interest Men’s Lifestyle 87

BEANO 51 Childrens Magazines Primary Boys 88

SPARKLE WORLD 17 Childrens Magazines Primary Girls 89

TROLLS 9 Childrens Magazines Primary Girls 90

PINK 17 Childrens Magazines Primary Girls 91

PSYCHOLOGIES 12 Women’s Interest Women’s Lifestyle/Fashion 92

HORSE AND HOUND 53 Leisure Interests Equestrian 93

SHOUT 14 Teenage Magazines Teenage Lifestyle 94

BBC TOP GEAR 13 Motoring & Motorcycling Motoring – General 95

CYCLING 52 Sport Cycle Sports – Cycling 96

SPEC SPIDERMAN ADVENTURE 18 Childrens Magazines Primary Boys 97

POKEMON 4 Childrens Magazines Primary Boys 98

TOP 100 TITLES YOU SHOULD STOCK

RETURN SCHEME

AS PLANS FOR A DEPOSIT AND RETURN SCHEME FOR PLASTIC AND GLASS BOTTLES ANDALUMINIUM CANS TAKE A STEP NEARER IN SCOTLAND, NFRN HEAD OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS ADRIANROPER EXPLAINS WHY THIS IS GOOD NEWS FOR MEMBERS, WHILE THE PACKAGING RECYCLINGGROUP SCOTLAND EXPLAINS WHY IT THINKS THEY SHOULD BE CANNED.

CAN AND BOTTLE

As announced by Scotland’s First MinisterNicola Sturgeon last month, there will nowbe a deposit return system for cans andbottles in Scotland – where customers paya small deposit and get it refunded in fullwhen they return their empties. Many inthe retail sector, including our members,will be delighted.

This won’t be the kind of one-manufacturer, one-material system thatBarrs used to operate for their glass bottles.Our members who took part can tell youthat fewer and fewer people knew thatthat system even existed, which won’t bethe case with a national system. Scotlandwill instead have the kind of modern andefficient deposit system used across muchof Europe and elsewhere, covering glass,cans and plastic.

There’s a myth going around that retailerswere all opposed to this idea, and anothermyth that it will be bad for business morebroadly. Just as on the carrier bag charge –which we are campaigning to extend tosmall shops in England – there are manysupporters. In fact, the NFRN formallyvoted to support a deposit return systemfor Scotland.

Our members are responsible retailersand want to operate in communities notblighted by littered cans and bottles. Wewant to stock better products, more ofwhich are made from recycled materials,and with cans and bottles that will need adeposit system to get good qualityaluminium and plastic back into the system.

Modern deposit systems work well bothfor retailers and for the public in places likeNorway or Estonia, where almost twice asmany empties are recycled as we see in

Scotland. The circular economymeans more jobs are retained locally,

too. All in all, we are pleased thatall these benefits will now

come to Scotland,including to retailers.

That doesn’tmean we don’t

have concernsabout the details,and some ofthose details arepretty importantto our members.Those moderndeposit systemspay retailers asmall handlingfee for everyempty can andbottle theycollect, and wewant to make

sure that fee is at the very least sufficientto make collection cost neutral.

It could be much better than that,though. The Scottish government hasalready published figures showing the netbenefit to retailers of a deposit systemcould be up to £8.7million a year, and theNFRN wants to make sure that smallretailers see their fair share of that income boost.

We also want to make sure that shopsthat don’t sell all three materials – cans,plastic and glass – can choose not toaccept materials they don’t sell, as happenselsewhere. Efficiency of collection is alsogoing to be important. Small shops have areal problem with the reliability of tradewaste collections in some parts ofScotland, and a system where you canrequest a same-day collection via yourphone, as in Norway, would be great to see.And the system will need to work just aseasily for retailers who don’t even take cardpayments, which includes many of ourmembers, especially in rural areas.

We also believe that smaller shops,where space is at a real premium, should beable to opt out if they wish. In Norway,those below 200 square metres can do so.In Lithuania, the figure is 300 square metres.What should the size limit be in Scotland?Our members will have views on that, andwe are confident they’ll be heard by theScottish government.

These are all important issues, and thereare definitely good and bad ways toimplement a deposit system, but we knowwhat the good ones look like, especially inScandinavia and the Baltics. That’s why ourcounterparts in the Lithuanian RetailersAssociation – where deposits wereintroduced last year – have said ‘withabsolute confidence that it was the rightthing to do’. We are hopeful that more of


WE ASK ARE YOU IN


our members will visit these countries andtalk to their counterparts there; it’s hard forsmall businesses to take the time out, butnothing is better at both dispelling mythsand identifying best practice.

The time has passed for claims that afully refundable deposit is a tax on theconsumer or that retailers won’t be able tomake money from a deposit system.Instead, the responsible thing for retailersto do is to take part constructively in thediscussions that will now take place, toaccept the clear benefits for the public, forthe environment, and for business, and tomake the case for designing a Scottishsystem that will work well for our sector.

If we all take part positively in thesediscussions, we will get a system we can allbe proud of for Scotland. And then, as withthe carrier bag charge, in a couple of yearswe will look back and wonder why anyoneever opposed the idea of deposit return.

Why the bottle deposit ideashould be cannedMaking a living running a small newsagentcan be a hard task, and if campaignerscalling for the introduction of a charge onall bottles and cans succeed it’s about toget a whole lot harder, writes CampbellEvans, a consultant to the PackagingRecycling Group Scotland.

It’s difficult to envisage a businessman

welcoming a deposit return scheme onbeverage containers that would reducesales space in order to process dirtybottles passed over the counter, whichstops the selling of fresh food in the same area, and which overseas hasencouraged shoppers to switch from local shops to supermarkets.

Yes, more needs to be done toencourage recycling and reduce litter, but deposit return advocates are well wide of the mark to suggest introducing a charge would be a simple solution with few downsides.

Small shops may be able to opt out ofhandling returns, but as seen in Germanythe customer goes elsewhere, from localshops to supermarkets. A small handlingfee for those that do participate will notcompensate for reduced shelf and storagespace, and the overall figure quoted of thebenefit for small shops is vastly overstatedas it ignored loss of sales space andassumes milk and glass are included, whichwould be unusual and unlikely.

Those that say it works overseas ignorethe fact that the UK has a much morecomprehensive household kerbsidecollection system than is found abroad. InScotland more than 80 per cent ofhouseholds enjoy kerbside collections, inSweden it is just 30 per cent. As a resultalmost 70 per cent of plastic bottles arealready being recycled in Scotland.

Newsagents therefore need to decide,do they wish to lose sales tosupermarkets, increase their costs of business, add to their bureaucracy and replace sales space with dirty bottle storage?

RETURNS öModern deposit systems work well bothfor retailers and for the public in placeslike Norway or Estonia, where almosttwice as many empties are recycled aswe see in Scotland.ö

öSmall shops may be able to opt out of handlingreturns, but as seen inGermany the customergoes elsewhere.õ

OR OUT?

REVERSE VENDING IN ACTION


öThis is the only machine in the UK that can takeplastic bottles, cans and glass bottles.õ

On September 13 members of the NFRN’sScotland DRS committee visited ExcelVending in East Kilbride to see forthemselves the Reverse Vending machine in action.

This is the only machine in the UK that can take plastic bottles, cans and glass bottles.

Scottish president Gail Winfield, who is a

member of the NFRN’s DRS committee,said: “The machine was easy to use and thesize was not as big as I first thought.

“Our priority is to make sure that thisscheme is workable and to make itvoluntary to smaller retailers and also tomake sure the cost of the machine isaffordable.

“There are various points that will

need to be cleared and addressed,” Mrs Winfield added.

The visit to East Kilbride forms part of the ongoing work that the DRS committee is doing to find workable solutions forindependent retailers.

Discussions with Zero Waste Scotland and other stakeholders who support DRS are ongoing.

FED-09-17The Retail Mutual is a trading name of The NFRN Mutual Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN: 312391.

The NFRN Mutual Ltd is registered in England and Wales, No. 3810528. Registered Office: 7 Maltings Place, 169 Tower Bridge Road, London, SE1 3JB.The NFRN Mutual Ltd is managed by Regis Mutual Management Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN: 479202.Regis Mutual Management Ltd is registered in England and Wales, No. 4194000. Registered Office: 7 Maltings Place, 169 Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 3JB.

“THE RETAIL MUTUAL UNDERSTANDSMY BUSINESS. I KNOW THEY’RETHERE IF I NEED THEM.”

Business, Liability, Home and Landlord cover for newsagents

Call for a quote or visit 0333 2127 2630333 2127 263 For more information TheRetailMutual.ComTheRetailMutual.Com

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Federation of Independent Retailers



ENOUGH’S ENOUGH

Leading the protest on the morning of Monday September 18 wasNational President Linda Sood, who was joined by 30 members fromacross the country. All were decked out in Enough’s Enough t-shirtsand waving placards calling for an end to the ‘carriage charge rip off’.

The said actions were driven by Smiths News’ recentannouncement that carriage charges were to rise by an average of3.9 per cent from next month, and an increase in serving failingsfollowing the opening of its new Hemel ‘super house’ which nowservices magazine retailers previously supplied by Borehamwood,Slough and Reading.

Shortly after gathering outside the Smiths News offices its chiefoperating officer Jon Bunting came to meet the NFRN and invited adelegation inside for further discussions.

While these talks took place, members took the time to explainto members of the public and Smiths News’ staff the impact thatboth carriage charges and poor service had on the businesses ofindependent news retailers.

Speaking afterwards, Mrs Sood said: “The protest shows thestrength of feeling against the increases in the financial burdensplaced on independent retailers by wholesalers like Smiths News.”

“These charges are putting in jeopardy many businesses and theservice they provide to their local communities,” she continued.

NFRN chief executive Paul Baxter added: “Independent retailersare no longer prepared to accept the ever increasing costs anddiminishing levels of service.”

Mr Baxter described the discussions with Smiths News as‘constructive’ and said that Mr Bunting had given an undertaking toreview the concerns of NFRN members.

Mrs Sood added that as a result of this response, the NFRN wasprepared to give Smiths News a window of opportunity to addressthe concerns.

NFRN MEMBERS DEMONSTRATED THEIR ANGER AND FRUSTRATION AT CONTINUED INCREASESIN CARRIAGE CHARGES AND PERSISTENT POOR SERVICE WHEN THEY PROTESTED OUTSIDESMITHS NEWS’ SWINDON HEAD OFFICE LAST MONTH.

THE NFRN’S CONCERNS• Carriage charges are now so high they threaten the long term

viability of newspapers and magazines in independentcommunity retailers.

• Smiths News’ latest increase is out of kilter with recentreviews and equates to a massive 9 per cent increase since2014 and comes on the back of a two year freeze.

• There has been a significant increase in complaints aboutservice standards – particularly relating to the Hemel andBirmingham houses.

• With newspaper and magazine circulations declining and withless volume on wholesaler vehicles, the NFRN is puzzled thatcarriage charges increase.

• Repeated requests for transparency and clarification over howthe costs are calculated have been rejected.

• Following diversification into new areas such as Pass my Parcelwhich piggyback on the newspaper and magazine drops there isconcern that news retailers are subsidising these businesses.

RETAILERS PROCARRIAGE CHAR


TEST TO ENDGE RIP OFF


ENOUGH’S ENOUGH

Q. After indications of some goodtimes ahead please explain howsuch a contentious decision wasreached, without consultation withyour retail customers, and why thisincrease is so out of kilter withrecent years?A. We review our Delivery Service Chargeannually and this year, due to thesignificant increases in fuel costs, it ishigher than in recent years. We don’t sitdown as a business and decide what wewould like the charge to be, theindexation formula uses independentlypublished data and the charges all derivedfrom the template. Most independentcustomers (around 94 per cent) suppliedby Smiths News chose to freeze their DSCand have realised significant benefits fromdoing this as they had no increase lastyear. This year’s increase, averaged overthree years for the customers that fixed,would be 1.3 per cent a year less than ifthey hadn’t fixed and lower than inflation.

Q. Why do the charges always goup – haven’t we had some of thecheapest fuel prices in recent times?A. They don’t always go up – in 2015 thetemplate decreased. Fuel fluctuatesconsiderably and was high at the time ofthe increase calculation, has dippedsubsequently and is currently on theincrease again. That said, fuel is only onepart of the transport cost included in thetemplate, both inflation and pay rateshave been increasing in recent years.Distribution costs have traditionallyincreased year-on-year in all sectors, notjust our supply chain.

Q. What do the FTA and yourNational Living Wage rates have to

do with us? Aren’t you just abusingyour position by giving yourself ahefty pay rise each time?A. The template reflects the cost ofdistribution and by including the likes ofFTA (Freight Transport Association) andNational Living Wage via Labour Costsensures that it remains relevant to that costand nothing else. Undoubtedly both theseareas are impacting our distribution costsover the year. We don’t cover our full costsof newspaper and magazine distribution.

Q. Given that the vast majority of your distribution to retailers is made by freelance contractorswhy are you including their costs in your numbers, particularly asthey tell us they’ve had no pay rises for years?A. Our contractor terms and conditionsare reviewed annually and are directlylinked to the cost of labour and transport;therefore we reflect that in our DeliveryService Charge.

Q. Publishers clearly also benefitfrom your distribution of theirproducts and, arguably, have agreater need to get their wares tostores. How much have theycontributed to this hike?A. The Delivery Service Charge isindependent of our commercialarrangements with publishers. Wenegotiate appropriate commercialcontracts with publishers when they aredue. Given we do not recover the full cost of distribution there is an implicitcontribution that they make.

Q. Have you considered deliveringmagazines at different times? It may

be cheaper and, after all, only theweekly titles are needed at thesame time for purchase?A. We look regularly at the supply chainand specifically the daily delivery aspect.Our view is that the most efficient routeto market for magazines is alongsidenewspapers. Anything that breaks that linkand introduces additional process ordeliveries just adds in more cost. Thatdoesn’t mean we’ve closed the door onany changes and will continue toinvestigate new approaches.

Q. You have other business venturesriding on the same vehicles thatarrive at our members’ stores. Doesthis mean that Amazon, ASOS andyour own Jack’s beans and Pass my Parcel are getting a free ride to market?A. All the costs associated with runningthese offers sit separate to the news andmagazine distribution costs and areexcluded from any DSC analysis. Thecommercial agreements with thesecompanies cover those costs. Our aim indiversifying into these areas was to remaina profitable operator in years to come andspecifically in the news supply chain.Independent customers who operate ourPMP or Jack’s services directly benefitfrom shoppers through the door and cashin their tills.

Q. Why do you still refuse to allow an independent auditor toexamine your books and give you a clean bill of health, particularly as you are also now delivering thesame Racing Post to betting shopsthat retailers were doing up to recently?

AHEAD OF THE ENOUGH’S ENOUGH PROTEST, THEFED ASKED SMITHS NEWS TO JUSTIFY THE EXISTENCEOF CARRIAGE CHARGES AND THE SIGNIFICANT HIKE.BELOW SIMON GAGE, SMITHS NEWS PUBLISHER ANDRETAILER SERVICES DIRECTOR EXPLAINS MORE.

SIMON GAGERESPONDS TO OURQUESTIONS


Under existing distribution agreements, newspapers andmagazines are distributed to retailers through a system ofexclusive postcode territories known as absolute territorialprotection. This means that a retailer must use the wholesalerallocated to his or her area and is prevented from seekingsupplies from elsewhere, apart from where publishers contractsoverlap in certain postcodes.

What does this mean?Newspaper distribution has special characteristics, in particularthe very short overnight time-frame for distribution. Thisensures that even small and remote retailers can stock a fullrange of newspapers. However, if for example you receive yournewspaper supply from Smiths News and your magazines fromMenzies Distribution, you can, in fact, request to receive yourmagazine supplies from Smiths. Unfortunately, due to theindustry regulation which comes with passive selling you areunable to request to change your newspaper wholesaler.Likewise, if you receive newspapers from Menzies and magazinesfrom Smiths News, you can request to receive your futuremagazine supply from Menzies.

What do you need to do?To take advantage of the opportunity to move and thus avoidpaying the extra carriage charges, you need to write to yourcurrent magazine wholesaler and request that under passiveselling you would like to transfer your supply of magazines toyour newspaper wholesaler. On receipt of the letter thewholesaler will respond, advising you of the next steps andtimelines. Altogether the whole process of applying to transferand for the supplies to actually transfer takes around eight to 12 weeks.

On the next page is a table of postcodes where retailers may be receiving a supply from both Smiths News and Menzies Distribution and where members should be able totransfer their magazines account to the wholesaler supplyingthem with news. This should save you paying at least onecarriage charge.

Retailers inside the M25 motorway receive The Sun, TheTimes, The Sun on Sunday and The Sunday Times directly from the publisher News UK, and this does cloud the situationsomewhat because all other national newspapers are deliveredby either Smiths News or Menzies Distribution.

A. As a large company, we submit toindependent audit every financial year. Inaddition, as part of a larger Group we are subject to rigorous scrutiny by theinternal audit and legal functions and assuch we are always mindful of how ouractivities and initiatives may impactretailers and we work hard to ensure that we operate within any legal orcompetition considerations as well asindustry requirements. Further, we havealso previously engaged the services ofindependent economists to review andendorse our DSC template and this givesus considerable comfort here that wedeem necessary.

Q. Looking forward, it appears thatyour contracts only protect thepublisher purse. Is this because theygive you exclusive areas to service,and do you envisage this modelchanging any time soon?A. Our publisher contracts regularly comeup for renewal and we seek to agree newcontracts that support the sustainabilityof the supply chain and that reflect thecommercial environment we’re operatingin. As this environment changes the nature

and scope of our discussions withpublishers will change too.

Q. Many would see your behaviouras an abuse of your position. Whatdo you say to this and how can youprove that this is not the case?A. We take our responsibilities in thesupply chain very seriously, ensuringretailers have relevant content at the righttimes for their customers to buy, and allsupported by SOR. Our implementationof DSC is the product of independentassessment criteria over which we have noinfluence. Beyond this, we are alwaysmindful of how our activities andinitiatives may impact retailers andtherefore we work hard to ensure that weoperate within any legal or competitionconsiderations as well as industryrequirements.

Q. Your increase comes when thetime you deliver newspapers to yourretail customers is not getting anybetter and you are further reducingyour customer facing operations –how can you justify this?A. Our aim is to continue to supply

newspapers and magazines for years tocome, in a market with decreasingrevenues this means that efficiencies haveto be made. We will always look tomanage the product through the supplychain in the most efficient and costeffective way, to do differently would onlyput further cost pressures on the business.

ARE YOU PAYING MORE THAN ONE CARRIAGE CHARGE FOR YOUR NEWSPAPERS ANDMAGAZINES? IF THE ANSWER IS YES, ARE YOU AWARE YOU MAY BE ABLE TO CHANGE THIS.NFRN NEWS OPERATIONS MANAGER PETER WILLIAMSON EXPLAINS.

ARE YOU PAYING FOR PASSIVE SELLING?


ENOUGH’S ENOUGH

Postcode Newspapers Magazines

BL8 1 Smiths Menzies




BL9 Smiths Menzies

BN7 Smiths Menzies

BN8 Smiths Menzies

BN9 Smiths Menzies

BR1 Smiths Menzies

BR2 Smiths Menzies

BR3 Smiths Menzies

BR4 Smiths Menzies

BR5 Smiths Menzies

BR6 Smiths Menzies

BR7 Smiths Menzies

BR8 Smiths Menzies

CO10 Menzies Smiths

CO10 7 Menzies Smiths

L31 Smiths Menzies

L32 Smiths Menzies

L33 Smiths Menzies

L34 Smiths Menzies

L35 Smiths Menzies

L39 0 Smiths Menzies





SMITHS AND MENZIES MULTIPLE SUPPLY Postcode Newspapers Magazines



NE71 Smiths Menzies

OL10 Smiths Menzies

OL11 Smiths Menzies

OL12 Smiths Menzies

OL15 Smiths Menzies

OL16 Smiths Menzies

SE19 Smiths Menzies

SE20 Smiths Menzies

SE25 Smiths Menzies

SE26 Smiths Menzies

TD15 Smiths Menzies

TN16 Smiths Menzies

WA1 Smiths Menzies

WA10 Smiths Menzies

WA11 Smiths Menzies

WA12 Smiths Menzies

WA13 Smiths Menzies

WA2 Smiths Menzies

WA3 Smiths Menzies

WA4 Smiths Menzies

WA5 Smiths Menzies

WA7 Smiths Menzies

WA8 Smiths Menzies

WA9 Smiths Menzies

WN8 Smiths Menzies


NFRN AWARDS

Now the initial judging is complete, the names of the memberswho have made it through to the final stages in the retailcategories of the 2017 NFRN Awards can be revealed.

This annual event is firmly established in the industry calendar,bringing together leading manufacturers, wholesalers, publishersand members to honour and acknowledge outstandingachievements throughout the UK and Ireland.

Winners in these categories, together with those who arevictorious in the news and supplier categories and the recipientsof special NFRN Awards, will be announced at a gala dinner onWednesday November 22 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.Tickets are available for just £50 per person. Book your seat at thebest awards dinner in the industry by contacting NFRN Connecton 0800 121 6376.

Revealing the first finalists NFRN chief executive Paul Baxtersaid: “Congratulations to all members who have been shortlisted.The standard was exceptionally high and we now look forward to selecting some well deserved winners. I’d like to encouragemembers to attend the awards ceremony in November and help us celebrate excellence among our membership and in the industry.

THE RETAIL FINALISTS AREResponsible Retailer of the Year• Dennis Williams, Broadway Premier, Edinburgh.• Ramzee Hasaballa, Speke Town Lane Convenience, Liverpool.• Navin Patel, Stephens Newsagents, Southsea, Hants.• Brian Kelly, Bellevue Service Station, Lurgan, County Armagh.

Convenience Retailer of the Year – Symbol• Mohammed Aslam, Day-Today, Wallyford, East Lothian.• Mandeep Khaira, Singh’s Premier, Sheffield.• Gwenna Lewis, Village Store, Rossett, Wrexham.• Mayur Patel, Saxon Field Stores, Andover, Hants.• Donal O’ Mahoney, Spa Glen, Mallow, County Cork.

Convenience Retailer of the Year – Independent• Brad Collins, Cannich Stores and Post Office, Cannich by Beaul.• Graeme Pentland, Ashburton Village Store, Gosforth, Newcastle.• Colin Hewitt, Pretoria News, Southsea, Hants.• Terence McCullagh, Spar Classic Service Station, Omagh.

Community Retailer of the Year• Manpreet Bawa, M J Bawa, Ayrshire. • Mandeep Khaira, Singh’s Premier, Sheffield.• Haroon Fiaz, Harry’s Convenience Store, Kimnel Bay, Rhyl.• Surekha Patel, Best One, Bexhill on Sea, East Sussex.• Paudie O’Neill, O’Keefe’s Grocery, Thomastown, Kilkenny.

S2D Delivery Service • Rory O Brien, Papers Direct, Glasgow.• Rob Irvine, Bare Lane News, Morecambe, Lancashire.• Matthew Clarke, Penlyn News, Cardiff.• Michael Tidy, Good News, Chichester, West Sussex.

S2D Deliverer• Jonathan Powell, Fields Road, Newport.• Marcus Leong, Broomes, Buckhurst Hill, Essex.

Retail Innovation• Mandeep Khaira, Singh’s Premier, Sheffield.• Matthew Clarke, Penlyn News, Cardiff.• Devendra Patel, This and That, Plaistow, London.• Pearce Kelly, Eurospar, Maghera.

Topps Collectable Retailer of the Year• Andrew Howell, Lomond News, Balloch.• Rakesh Kohli, Newsbox, Newcastle.• Stephen Mitchell, S&S Mitchell, Blofield, Norwich.• Chandrakant Patel, Marsh Hill News, Hackney, London.• Charles Henderson, Spar Parkhall, Antrim, County Cork.

AWARDS FINALISTSHEAD TO LONDONAS THE COUNTDOWN COMMENCES FOR THE NOT-TO-BE-MISSED NFRN AWARDS ONNOVEMBER 22 FIND OUT WHO IS IN THE RUNNING FOR A PRESTIGIOUS RETAILER PRIZE

BLOCKED BYNFRN ACTION


PAYZONE UPDATE

Back in July Payzone wrote to customers advising of radicalchanges to its existing arrangements that would lock them intocontracts for three years, with extra charges. While the noticeperiod for termination was to be increased to six months, retailerswere also given less than two weeks to consider the implicationson their businesses.

Responding, NFRN chief executive Paul Baxter described theseactions as “totally unacceptable”, adding that “this was one of themost outrageous attempts to impose unfair contracts uponretailers that I have seen in my 35 years working within retail.”

Legal advice sought by the NFRN confirmed that while Payzonehad a right to change contractual terms unilaterally, there was astrong argument against it using this power to lengthen members’contracts without their consent. The NFRN was also told that acourt would be likely to regard Payzone’s attempt to keepmembers in its network for longer than previously agreed as anunlawful restraint of trade as well as being in breach of the UnfairContract Terms Act 1977.

On April 4, the NFRN’s lawyers wrote to Payzone requestingthat it withdraw its attempts to lengthen contracts and changenotice periods, and warned of legal action should the companychoose not to do so.

After 10 days of silence, Payzone agreed to meet with theNFRN to discuss concerns, and a full and frank meeting took placeon August 16 between Mr Baxter and Payzone’s chief commercialofficer Rupert Lowery.

At this meeting, Payzone agreed to climb down, prompting Mr Baxter to praise the company for ‘the constructive way’ itapproached the discussions.

Mr Baxter also confirmed that Payzone had agreed that retailersshould have a reasonable period of notice to consider the newcontract; the ability to terminate their current contract withoutpenalty if they believed the new arrangement was not suitable for their business, and just 60 days notice to terminate the newcontract, once the terminal and new terms and conditions were operational.

Mr Baxter continued: “We are supportive of Payzone’stechnology investment and future business plans and will work

with them to ensure that our members receive fair and equitableterms. In the interim we wish to work with them on a number ofimportant clauses and charges still within the new contract thatwe believe require further review. Payzone has agreed to workwith the NFRN to consider more practical solutions in support ofretailers that decide to enter into a new contract.”

Mr Lowery said Payzone was totally committed to its coreconvenience market and had spent millions of pounds in creatinga better retailer and consumer experience.

Planned improvements for retailers included an increased rangeof services including parcels and Transport Ticketing, which wouldbring increased footfall as a result as well as reduced transactiontimes and more robust security.

He added: “We are providing this at a market-leading price aswe believe in a fair deal for our customers and are happy to workwith the NFRN on the changes outlined above. We recognise therole the NFRN plays and welcome the chance to get things rightto the benefit of all sides.”

Since then, the NFRN and Payzone have continued to meet toiron out any remaining concerns – most recently on September 6,where members’ concerns about unexpected engineer visits toinstall the new tablet technology were aired.

At this meeting it was agreed that until retailers received aletter from Payzone advising of the 28 notice period, they couldpostpone any visit. However, any retailer agreeing to the visitbefore receiving the notice letter on updated terms andconditions would still have 28 days to make contact with Payzoneto terminate their old contract.

It was further agreed that if a retailer was undecided about thenew tablet, Payzone could not deactivate an existing terminal toprompt them into a decision.

What the NFRN and Payzone agreed• Retailers would receive 28 days to consider the new terms

and conditions.• Retailers who believed the new terms and conditions were

impractical would be able to terminate their current contractwithout penalty charges at the existing expiry date stated on the current contract or sooner if the legacy hardware was discontinued.

• 60 days notice required for retailers wanting to terminate their contracts.

• Any retailers that had terminals already installed or had chargeslevied on the ‘new’ basis would be given the same ‘revised’terms and conditions.

• Discussions would continue on some other fundamentalelements of the contract.

THE NFRN SECURED A MAJOR VICTORYRECENTLY AFTER E-PAYMENTS COMPANYPAYZONE BACKED DOWN FROMIMPLEMENTING CONTROVERSIAL CHANGES TO RETAILER TERMS AND CONDITIONS IN NEW CONTRACTS FOR ITS NEW TABLET TECHNOLOGY.

PAYZONE TERMS


• Retailers would be required to access the broadband facilityplatform and pay the associated charges for the new terminal.Such charges will vary by provider. (Payzone offers a PlusNetservice at a discounted rate).

• The new terminal charge is £0.99 per week.• The new ‘low usage’ transaction has risen from 35 to 40

transactions per week and the cost for any retailers below this level is £2.50 per week.

Is Payzone right for my business – making theright decision• A broadband facility is required for the new terminal.

- If your business already has broadband facility, this will resultin no additional cost to your business.

- If, however, your business does not have a broadband facility,the additional cost will vary depending on the provider inaddition to your current line rental cost.

- Contact the NFRN if you are unsure how to go aboutobtaining a broadband facility.

• There is a terminal levy of £0.99 per week.• If your business carries out less than 40 transactions per week

there is a £2.50 levy surcharge per week.

Will Payzone benefit my business?To calculate the profit related to Payzone transactions and to helpyou decide if it is an asset within your business.• Select all Payzone transactions. • Discard those transactions that contain only Payzone items.• On the non-Payzone items in the transactions:

a. net off the VAT portion of revenues on VAT-able items. b. use the costs of these items to work out actual profit. c. where a cost is not available, use a notional 20% profit.

• Calculate the overall profit generated by non-Payzone items inall transactions.

• Work out what percentage of the store’s remaining non-Payzonerevenue is represented by the profit calculated as above.

This profit calculation STILL does not take intoaccount.• The cost of banking additional cash taken on Payzone

transactions.• Any losses caused by operating mistakes by staff in store.• All other business costs ie data protection registration, minimum

living wage, auto pension enrol, NIC employee contributions,insurance cover for the receipt of money, rates, rent, businessconsumables.

For further guidance and advice visit www.nfrnonline.com.

TIMELINE TO SUCCESSJuly 27 Payzone announces radical new changes to the termsand conditions of its contracts, giving retailers a minimumtime to consider the details and the subsequent impact ontheir businesses. The NFRN slams Payzone’s actions.

August 2 NFRN CEO Paul Baxter demands more time forretailers to consider the implications. “Attempting to force thenew contracts through in under two weeks is not acceptable.”

To get a better understanding of members’ views and thesituation we launch a short survey on NFRN Online.

August 4 NFRN receives legal advice that members’ contractscannot be lengthened without their consent, and keepingretailers in its network for longer than previously agreedwould be an unlawful restraint of trade and in breach of theUnfair Contracts Terms Act 1977.

Lawyers working for the NFRN write to Payzone challengingthe imposition of these new contracts.

August 10 Payzone tells the trade press that it ‘would contactall customers and offer them the chance to get back in touchif they don’t want to extend contracts’.

The NFRN advises members that this attempt is invalid sothere is no need for retailers to ask to have their contractcancelled.

Payzone’s response prompts a further letter from solicitorsadvising that the attempt to impose the new minimum termsis ineffective and threatening legal action if steps are nottaken in full to address the NFRN concerns set out in theprevious letter.

August 11 NFRN issues further advice to members that ifPayzone makes a telephone call to organise the installation of a terminal that agreeing to this will seal their acknow-ledgement of the new three year contract, six months noticeto terminate and other new clauses contained. Members areadvised to delay any installation date with Payzone pendingfurther legal updates from the NFRN.

August 15 It is confirmed that the NFRN and Payzone willmeet the following day. The NFRN commits to fighting theseinvalid and unacceptable changes.

August 16 Formal meeting takes place between the twocompanies at the NFRN’s Yeoman House headquarters.

August 17 NFRN and Payzone announce that after a full andfrank discussion Payzone has climbed down.


BUSINESS PROPERTYAndrew – my landlord wants to put my rent up morethan inflation – can he do that?In short – it depends! Check the lease first as that has themechanism for rent increases. Most rent reviews are to ‘marketrent’ at a set date although they can be inflation linked ‘RPI’ witha formula.

Rent reviews are usually ‘upwards only’ where the rent willeither go up or stay the same until the lease expires whendifferent procedures apply. It is important to check if ‘time is ofthe essence’, or if the rent review is linked to, say, a break clause.Always get legal advice and surveyor advice on what your rentreview clause requires you to do and by when.

With a market rent, usually the landlord gives formal notice totrigger negotiations and there will be a time period for this. Theonus is on the landlord to prove that there is an increase – basedon comparable rental evidence, not how much your business can afford or inflation. It is then a case of comparing the evidence to your property, its location and the lease terms – as this affects value.

In the absence of an agreement or to negotiate harder, eitherparty can refer the review to a third party – either an expert orarbitrator appointed by the RICS Dispute Resolution Service. Ifyou are facing this, you must get professional advice as you canbe at risk of costs if the outcome is in the landlord’s favour.A useful link is the RICS Dispute Resolution Servicetinyurl.com/pddvl58.

Andrew – I want to sell my business – do I need mylandlord’s consent?You probably don’t need consent if you are selling the business inits entirety, including the trading company. However, if the lease isin your name or you are selling it to a separate legal entity thenyou probably will. Check the ‘alienation’ provisions in the leasegenerally and regarding assignment.

The lease sets out the requirements and the law that appliesnormally requires a landlord to act reasonably in consideringapplications; to respond in a timely fashion; and to give reasons ifconsent is to be withheld.

Whilst the landlord can be liable for damages if it is found notto have acted reasonably, this can take time and incur costsduring which time you may lose your buyer! It is thereforeimportant to approach the landlord in the right way, and early.

This includes getting accounts, if available, and professional andtrade references from the buyer; saying in writing that you aremaking a ‘formal application’ and agreeing to meet the landlord’sreasonable legal and surveyors’ costs. This might be based on anestimate or to a ceiling. The reasonableness ‘clock’ can only start

to tick if the landlord has this information. As you will have to‘guarantee’ the assignee, a deposit may be reasonable and youneed to be satisfied they are unlikely to default on the leasegenerally and not just the rent!

Always get early professional advice, especially if any doubt or difficulty.

Business Property Advantage is an RICS regulated businessproperty consultancy providing businesses advice when dealingwith commercial property with the exception of valuation andconstruction advice.

Director Andrew Pegg is a chartered surveyor and charteredmanagement consultancy surveyor specialising in commercialpractice. He has over 30 years lease advisory experience acrossthe UK and 20 years’ experience representing tenants from FTSE 100 and international businesses to small businesses andstart-ups.

Andrew has been working with the NFRN since 2015.

SUBPOSTMASTERS.COMLorna – I am interested in offering a post office. Howcan I find out if there is a franchise available and do Ineed previous Post Office experience to apply?In the first instance, to see whether there is a franchise available,check out the official Post Office Limited website atwww.runapostoffice.co.uk

While you don’t need experience of working in a post office toapply, proven experience in retailing and/or customer services is adistinct advantage.

Subpostmaster.com is an independent business offering 100per cent impartial, confidential support to existingsubpostmasters and those wishing to apply for a Post Officefranchise.

It is available to address any major issues or concernsNFRN members are experiencing with your Post Office branchwith a 30 minute free helpline per member, with exclusiveNFRN prices for additional support.

LICENSING MATTERSGill – do I need to do anything if I change the layout ofmy store?Yes. Many people do not realise that changing the layout of astore means that an application must be made to change the

ASK THE EXPERTS

NFRN MEMBERSHIP GIVES YOU ACCESS TO A COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGE OF LEGAL SUPPORTFOR YOUR BUSINESS. IN THIS NEW SERIES, A PANEL OF EXPERTS WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONSON PROPERTY, EMPLOYMENT, LICENSING AND RUNNING A POST OFFICE.

WHAT DO THE PANEL


Premises Licence. This can be a fairly simple process if the councilwill allow you to do it as part of what is called a ‘Minor Variation’application. However, some councils demand that a ‘Full Variation’application is applied for. This process takes at least 28 days and ismuch more complicated. Do not make any changes to your storelayout without sorting out the changes to the licence first as youcould be told to stop selling alcohol if you do!

Gill – I am the designated premises supervisor (DPS),how often do I need to be in the shop?There is no right or wrong answer to this question. As thedesignated premises supervisor or DPS you are expected to be in‘day to day control’ of the premises. The hours you work at thestore are up to you and you are not expected to be there all ofthe time. It is advisable, however, that the DPS works regularhours at the premises. For example, the ideal scenario would bethe owner or manager who works full time hours. The main pointto note is that your responsibilities remain the same however youchoose to manage your time. As the DPS you are responsible formembers of staff and authorising them to make sales of alcoholon your behalf. You must ensure they are trained and understandwhat they are doing and how to sell alcohol responsibly.

Gill Sherratt is the managing director of the UK’s leadinglicensing consultancy, Licensing Matters. With over 12 years inbusiness she has created an award-winning company that hasbecome the service of choice for many independent retailerswho need help with alcohol licensing. She brings a particularedge to her work, born of her long experience as a licensingpolice officer.

Licensing Matters advises on all aspects of compliance withlicensing legislation, submit applications and BIIAB accreditedtrainers and represent store owners in licensing hearings.

NFRN LEGAL HELPLINELesley – a member of the public has asked to see CCTVfootage of my customer car park which shows their carbeing damaged. They say they need it so that they, ortheir insurance company, can take legal action. Is it OKto share the footage with the customer or would it bebetter if I send it to the police instead?The Information Commissioner’s Office has produced a code ofpractice for users of surveillance equipment ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1542/cctv-code-of-practice.pdf.

Section 5.2.2 provides guidance on sharing footage. It isappropriate to disclose surveillance information to the police ifthe CCTV was installed to prevent and detect crime. If the CCTV

was not installed for that purpose, but for example, if it wasinstalled to control parking restrictions, it would still beacceptable to hand over footage to the police to help to preventand detect crime.

Any other requests for information should be approached with care, as wider disclosure may be unfair to the individualsconcerned. In some limited circumstances, it may be appropriateto release information to a third party where their needsoutweigh those of the individuals whose information is recorded. You should consider whether their request is genuine and whether there is any risk to the safety of the otherpeople involved.

Lesley – I have some basement space and want to createa small coffee counter. Nothing too ambitious but I planto sell coffees, specialist teas, fresh fruit smoothies andsandwiches made to order. I have a food safetycertificate course booked but someone told me that Iwould also need to get a licence. I’m not serving hotfood or alcohol, is that right?Yes. You must contact the environmental health service at yourlocal council to register your premises if you sell, cook, store,prepare handle or distribute food to consumers (even if you dothis from home). You must allow 28 days before you start foodpreparations and registration of the premises is free.

ARAG works closely with the NFRN to understand your legalprotection insurance needs and to develop an insuranceoffering that includes helplines and access to NFRN Plus fordigital legal documents. ARAG is committed to providingmembers with guidance, security and advice and has wonnumerous industry awards for excellent customer service. Lesley Attu is ARAG UK’s product development manager. Shehas many years of experience working as a specialist in thelegal expenses insurance market, originally as an underwriterbefore moving into product development.

ASK THE EXPERTS

THINK?

If you have a problem that you wouldlike to pose to any of our experts

please email [email protected].

Andrew Pegg Lorna Shord Gill Sherratt Lesley Attu

ASK THE EXPERTS


FOOD TO GO

In convenience stores, forecourt shopsand other retailers, food-to-go sales arecurrently standing at £2.76 billion and thisis expected to rise to £3.6 billion in thenext five years.

IGD’s senior insight manager GavinRotherwell said: “Convenience andforecourt retailers have spotted a greatopportunity in the food-to-go market andare now becoming increasingly active inthis area, either through their own rangesor by teaming up with well-known brandnames to add credibility. Youngershoppers are particularly likely to drivegrowth in these stores, with 18-25-year-olds twice as likely to buy food-to-go inconvenience stores compared to theirolder counterparts.”

Data provider IRI agrees that-food-togrow is one of the fastest growingconvenience categories sold byconvenience retailers and says that onaverage every person buys 20 food-to-gomeals a year.

According to its research across allretailers, sales of sandwiches grew by

3.8 per cent to £1.4 billion and while theystill account for most volume sales, it isbaguettes, salads and sushi – all higherpriced items – which are showing fastergrowth. Ready to eat salads, for example,grew 5.1 per cent to £800 million whilesales of sushi grew by 12 per cent to £100 million.

“Ready prepared food is a way of life formost time-poor shoppers today whoadopt a ‘buy it when I need it’ approachto grocery shopping and who are eatingout more,” said Martin Wood, head ofstrategic retail insight at IRI. “Now thatthere are more choices available, includingsushi and salad, shoppers don’t need tocompromise their health.

“There are also some really good ‘mealdeals’ being offered that add a drink –with more convenience retailers alsoproviding fresh coffee – and/or a snack tothe sushi or sandwich lunch at a price thatoften works out a lot cheaper than all ofthe component parts,” added Wood. “Thisis encouraging people to buy theirbreakfast, lunch or ‘anytime meal’ on theway to work or home, boosting salesacross not just the food-to-go categorybut also snacks and beverages too.

“There is a huge opportunity forindependent convenience retailers towork with their wholesale and buyinggroup partners to identify a broader rangeof ‘food-to-go’ options. In this way theycan capitalise on these changing consumerbehaviours,” concluded Wood.

Pepsico’s Convenience Research in 2016revealed that only 21 per cent of shoppers

1. Make snacks impossible to missLocate in high footfall areas and nextto complementary categories.

2. Stock the best-selling baggedsnacks linesBoost sales with the top snack lines on display.

3. Draw shoppers to the baggedsnacks fixtureEngage customers with branded SKUblocks and POS.

4. Make prices easy to seeHighlight value with visible pricemarking and PMP ranges wherepossible.

5. Maximise impulse and eventsMake promotions visible across storeto drive sales.

PLADIS’ TOP FIVETIPS FOR RETAILERS

1. It’s go, go, go with on-the-go – Withincreasingly frequent and smallereating occasions, on-the-go is a majorgrowth driver for the snacks category.

2. Value is still key to shopper loyalty. Transparent pricing and having clear value for money is still of utmost importance to consumers.

3. Health has never been higher on theagenda. Offering a range of choiceand available pack formats assistsshoppers when they are selectingproducts in aisle.

4. Savoury is steaming ahead. Savoury isseeing an accelerated shift away fromtraditional products towards bakedsavoury snacks.

PLADIS’ MUST KNOW TRENDS FOR SNACKS

BY 2022, THE FOOD-TO-GO SECTOR IN THE UK IS FORECAST TO BE WORTH ANESTIMATED £23.5 BILLION, UP FROM £17.4 BILLION IN 2017, ACCORDING TO IGD. AND ONE FOOD-TO-GO IS


that use independent and symbol storesknow what they want to buy before theyactually visit the store. For retailers thisoffers an incredible opportunity toinfluence what shoppers purchase oncethey enter your store, simply through howyou choose to best display your products.Therefore, with most purchases being onimpulse, you should maximise these typesof purchases by having great displays inareas of high footfall around your store.

Pepsico also found that more shoppersbuy single savoury snacks when they aremerchandised at the front of store withjuice and sandwiches, or displayed at thetill point.

Pierre Jackson, the category insightscontroller at PepsiCo said healthier foodoptions were growing in importance.“Health conscious shoppers continue tolook for Better For You snacking optionsand this trend continues to grow. BetterFor You single serve is at +5.2 per cent growth.”

Mr Jackson added: “Walkers has adiverse snacking portfolio that offersgenuine choice and continues to bringnew healthier options to the market suchas Baked and Sunbites. These healthier

snacking options have seen strong growth,showing that shoppers are increasinglylooking for Better For You products thatthey can enjoy without sacrificing taste”.

Hena Chandarana, the tradecommunications controller at pladis,agreed, stating: “There is increasingpressure on fried snacks as a continuingfocus on healthier, more balancedsnacking remains top of the mind forconsumers when selecting products fromthe shelves. As a result of this trend, bakedsnacks have played an increasingly largerrole in driving growth back into thesavoury category.”

Ms Chandarana said that the majority of shoppers cite price as a determiningfactor behind purchase in convenience.“We are increasingly finding PMPs (pricemarked products/packs) to be a keyfeature amongst independent retailers as a means of building trust with theirshoppers as they communicatetransparency on pricing.”

Shoppers’ preferences towards on-the-go food and snacks will only continue togrow, and we have some top tips fromsome of the country’s leading suppliers tohelp retailers make the most of this trend.

1. Shoppers would expect to findsavoury snacks in several locationsaround the store- Near confectionery- At the sandwich chiller- At the till point

2. Prioritise in the following way- Sharing – with beers, wines and

spirits/soft drinks and other hightraffic areas

- Sandwich chiller (if applicable)- Till point (on counter top or nearby)

3. Stock the right PMP range and best sellers- Use your RDMs to help identify

the best ranges for your store- A small but core range that is

specifically relevant to yourcustomers is all you need

4. Work on finding the best locationin your store- Use your RDMS on secondary

displays that will help maximiseyour sales opportunities

5. Keep up to date with new best-selling products and trends- Give maximum visibility to these

products to drive your sales

PEPSICO TIPS TOPROMOTE FOOD TO GO IN HIGHFOOTFALL AREAS

THAT OFFERS HUGE OPPORTUNITIESA WAY OF LIFE

FOOD TO GO

One of the most important points forretailers to focus on when hoping tomaximise their returns from on-the-gosnacks, is visibility.

Your food-to-go section should be easyto spot and in areas of high footfall inorder to grab the shoppers’ attention asthey are entering and leaving the store.

Highlighting the value of your food-to-go section by improving the visibility ofprices will work to catch shopper’sattention and interest.

You can even separate any promotionsyou may be offering from your other on-the-go snack items to draw moreattention to the offer and promote extra sales.

Breakfast to goWhy not capitalise on the food-to-gosector by entering into the breakfastrange, specifically aimed at those rushedcommuters that pass your store everyday,who haven’t had a chance to get theirbreakfast yet?

Wall’s, the sausage brand owned byKerry Foods, has invested into the hotfood-to-go sector with the launch of twonew ‘heat to eat’ breakfast rolls.

Jessica Lamb, senior brand manager forWall’s, states that they “want to offershoppers variety and also help with theirincreasingly busy lifestyle by offeringconvenience to those looking for an on-the-go option. We know that microwave

snacking is very popular butthere is still a gap in themarket for quality breakfastoptions. Sixty per cent ofshoppers consume food-to-go products at work or homeand the demand forincreasing simplicity meansthat shoppers are keen forsolutions that delivermaximum taste forminimum prep time.”

If you are eager to joinor improve on your food-to-go options thenoffering microwavable

products may just be the way to go aboutit. Offering shoppers great value food,with minimum time spent at affordableprices will likely be a huge opportunity forretailers to drive their sales. If thebreakfast market proves profitable itwould also be a good idea to expand intolunch options as well.

Coffee to goCoffee to go is another growth area forconvenience stores and research fromJacks beans found that over half thepeople interviewed found the idea ofpurchasing a 'coffee shop' quality coffeefrom a local shop appealing.

Quality of the coffee was paramount,with convenience, quick service and value for money all key to encouragingcoffee purchase.

Jack's beans Coffee Company wasdeveloped by Smiths News to support thecompany's diversification strategy and tocreate a fresh opportunity for community-based retailers to access the lucrativecoffee shop market, estimated to beworth over £1.4 billion.

Launching the brand, Smiths News chiefoperating officer Jon Bunting explained:"Jack's is here to help independent retailers to grow their business. The aim is toquickly establish the Jack's beans CoffeeCompany brand as a familiar face inlocations up and down the country,building growth through a community-

centric philosophy that creates a path-to-profit for retailers and rewards loyalty on a local level."

Designed with local retailers in mind,the Jack's beans unmanned coffee barmeasures just 500mm in width. The 'pay attill' machines can serve 100 drinks per day,includes a fridge for fresh milk bottles to go, requires low staff maintenance and is supported with quick guide andvideo references.

"The daily take-away coffee is nowconsidered so vital to many people'sroutine that it's become a 'non-negotiable'treat," Mr Bunting said. "We have investeda significant amount of time and energybehind both the product and deliverysystem. The result is the kind of ‘barista-style’ coffee customers have come toexpect from high-street coffee shops, butin a convenient format."

According to Jack’s beans, average dailysales are between eight and 10 cups a day, although some retailers are selling as many as 45 cups per day as part ofmultiple purchases.

According to Jack’s beans retailers Ianand David Lewis from Spar Minister Lovell:“We sell 15 to 20 cups per day and ourfood-to-go sales are up 20 per cent”.

Other retailers say they have welcomednew customers who visit the store to buya hot drink.


✓ Make prices easy to see!✓ Stock best selling products!✓ Keep up to date with food-

to-go trends✓ Capitalise on the food-to-go,

healthier is better movement✓ Take the plunge and enter the

food-to-go sector

MAKE FOOD-TO-GOSNACKS IMPOSSIBLEFOR SHOPPERS TO MISS


Jack’s beans is available across the UK,from Glasgow to Penzance, across 363stores and growing.

Freda Cronk – head of brand andmarketing said: “What sets Jack’s beansapart is the fact that we are a home-grown, quality UK brand with a focus onsupporting local shopkeepers. We use onlyFairtrade coffee which we buy direct andwhich supports growers. We call this our‘social democracy’ – this as well as ourhighly competitive commercial terms andgreat tasting coffee at a great price whichis what makes us an attractive prospectfor retailers who partner with us.”

Jack’s beans offer six different drinks atone size of 12oz with an agreed price percup of £2.

The UK’s leading on-the-go coffeebrand, Costa Express also installs self-servecoffee bar in convenience stores andforecourts and is on track to achieve itstarget of more than 8,000 machines by 2020.

The strength of the Costa brandcombined with the convenience of theself-serve format has proved a winningcombination.

Murray McGowan, Costa Expressmanaging director, said: “Costa Express hasenjoyed tremendous growth. We’ve alwaysbeen confident that we can deliver anunbeatable coffee experience to on-the-go customers by using interactivetechnology, great Costa Coffee and fresh milk.”

öCosta Express has enjoyedtremendous growth. Weùvealways been confident that

we can deliver an unbeatablecoffee experience to on-the-

go customers by usinginteractive technology, great Costa Coffee and

fresh milk.õ


✓ Over half of people found purchasing coffee shop quality coffeefrom a local shop appealing.

✓ Quality of the coffee was paramount.✓ Convenience, quick service, and value for money are key to

encouraging coffee purchase.

JACK’S BEANS RESEARCH SHOWED

öFor lower volume sites, Havana Coffee offers aúcompact Towerù option delivering fresh bean coffee at a very competitive low cost per cup.õ

Just recently, Costa renewed itspartnership with Shell service stations foranother five years. Mr McGowan said: “TheCosta Express brand perfectly complementsthe Shell forecourt model, supporting thebrand into providing its customers with ahigh quality and consistent offering and thebest coffee on the go.”

Mike Hominick, Shell UK retail,marketing manager added: “Shell servicestations in the UK serve five millioncustomers a week and our renewedrelationship with Costa Coffee meanscustomers can enjoy a fantastic cup ofcoffee when they visit. Coffee is now one of our most popular items. Therelationship between Costa and Shell hasalready grown our sales to over 18 millioncups a year and we are excited about ourjoint plans for further growth. ServingCosta coffee is one of the ways we areexpanding the role our service stations playin the lives of customers, offering greatquality fresh food and coffee to customerswho live their lives on the move.”

Members in the South West wanting toget involved in the ever growing coffee togo category can do so with a HavanaCoffee Tower, available from Youings Cashand Carry.

Havana Coffee Tower’s offer is a low cost, no capital outlay system for customers demanding fresh ground coffee, as opposed to ‘instant’offerings.

Nigel MacKenzie Shapland, a consultantfor Barnstaple based Havana Coffee said:“We will supply you with the equipment,the ingredients and the cups, basicallyeverything you need to offer great coffee,then invoice you on a monthly basis forthe number of cups sold.”

For lower volume sites, Havana Coffeeoffers a ‘compact Tower’ option deliveringfresh bean coffee at a very competitivelow cost per cup. The machine measuresjust 600mm wide by 600mm deep andproduces lattes, cappuccinos, mocha andhot chocolate.

For larger volume sites there is the ‘Tower’, at 700mm wide and 770mmdeep, with fresh milk or soluble milkoptions and offering every coffee fromespresso, latte, cappuccino, hot chocolateand mocha.

Bespoke POS from loyalty cards topavement signs and giant coffee cups areavailable to help maximise sales and letcustomers know there is a quality coffeeoffering available.

• The UK coffee shop market is nowvalued at over £1.4 billion.

• Buying coffee out of home is a well-established part of UK consumers’lifestyles.

• Daily take-away coffee is so vital tomany people’s routine that it’sconsidered a ‘non-negotiable’ treat.

• Consumers use coffee as fuel (a wake-up) and it’s a habit that needssatisfying with good quality, ‘real’coffee shop products.

• Our tastes are changing. Consumersare demanding better quality coffeemoving forward.

A LITTLE INFO FROMJACK’S BEANS

TIPS AND ADVICE

IS YOUR PROPERTYWINTER READY

AUTUMN IS CLOSING IN, BRINGING WITH IT DARKER EVENINGS, WET WEATHER AND THEPROSPECT OF PLUNGING TEMPERATURES TO FOLLOW. THIS IS A TIME WHEN RETAILERSCAN TAKE A FEW SMALL, BUT IMPORTANT STEPS TO ENSURE THEIR PROPERTY, STAFFAND CUSTOMERS STAY SAFE THROUGHOUT THE COLDER SEASON.

Preparing in advance and minimising yourrisk rather than dealing with problemsafter the fact will help protect yourbusiness and those around you. So whatsteps can you take?

Roof, gutters, gullies and drainsLook out for roof damage such as cracked,broken or missing tiles, hairline cracks orloose sides on a felt flat roof and arrangeany repairs before the weather turns. Keepgutters and drains clear so that rainwatercan drain away, and check that drain pipesare properly fixed in place. Simplemaintenance such as this can help preventfuture damage and can also preventliability claims, for instance if a loose tile or guttering falls and injures acustomer, staff member or other memberof the public.

PipesEscaped water is a very common claim byhouseholders and retailers alike. There are three primary causes of this: rapiddrops in temperature; poor insulation; andthermostats set too low.

Before the temperatures plummet, take

the opportunity to insulate any exposed pipes in the crawl spaces and attic of yourpremises. Look out, too, for gaps thatallow cold air to enter near where pipesare located, such as around electricalwiring and vents, and use caulk orinsulation to keep the cold out. Withsevere cold, even a tiny opening can let inenough cold air to cause a pipe to freeze.

Before winter hits, if possible use anindoor valve to shut off and drain waterfrom pipes leading to outside faucets. This reduces the chance of freezing in the short span of pipe just inside your premises.

Protect your customers, staffand the general publicThe British weather can be unpredictableand sleet and snow can strike at any time.Make sure you have sufficient supplies ofsalt or grit for paths, and that you have ashovel too. As a business owner you areliable for staff or customers who injurethemselves on your premises so it isimportant to take every step you can toensure their safety. If it’s icy outside becareful to clear all access paths to preventslips and falls.

Inside your shop, try to keep door matsflush to the door to capture any excesswater or snow brought into the shop fromcustomers’ shoes or clothing. If possible,have an employee regularly check aroundthe shop for any puddles and make surethey are cleaned up immediately. Don’tforget to display relevant warning signs. Dotry to avoid using flattened cardboardboxes as these can also slip on the floor.

Make a planBusiness continuity planning enables youto plan and anticipate likely scenarios andmakes it less likely that your business willbe adversely affected by difficultsituations. Take the time to consider howyou will protect your staff, customers,premises and business, and hopefully theunexpected will not come to pass.

Ensure you are as protected as you canbe. Check your business and liability coverwordings to satisfy yourself that they areadequate for your needs, and if you are inany doubt speak to your cover providerbefore the unexpected occurs.

The Retail Mutual provides bothbusiness and home cover especially forindependent retailers.

For a free, no-obligation quote contact them today on 0333 2127 263, [email protected] visitwww.TheRetailMutual.Com.


HERE TO HELP

NFRN CONNECTUPDATE

52 NFRNONLINE.COM NOVEMBER 2016

Freephone number:

0800 121 6376* Calling from a mobile:

020 7017 8880 Calling from Republic of Ireland:

01 453 5822 Email: [email protected]


THE NFRN CONNECT TEAM OFFERS HELP, ADVICE AND SUPPORT TO MEMBERS SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. SOME OF THEIR LATEST SUCCESSES ARE DETAILED BELOW.

NFRN Connect is our dedicated member callcentre to assist you with all queries and newbusiness opportunities.

Opening hours:Monday to Friday: 7am to 5pmWeekends & PublicHolidays: 7am to 11am*Free from UK landlinephones only. Chargesmay apply when callingfrom abroad or from amobile phone.

How to contact NFRN Connect:

MANAGING NEWSNFRN Connect came to the rescue of two retailers who wereexperiencing problems when trying to manage their news andmagazines supplies using their news wholesaler’s app.

Much to his frustration, Retailer B found that every time hechanged orders electronically it was quickly amended back. Insteadof receiving the two copies of the Racing Post that he needed forloyal customers he was only supplied with one.

After NFRN Connect intervened, the member received a phonecall advising that his alterations would be honoured, but just fourdays later this was ignored. Instead of receiving 15 copies of theDaily Express that he had asked for he was sent 21, yet was shortsupplied on the i, receiving four copies when he had requested six.

After further representations from NFRN Connect the wholesalerissued a further reminder to managers at the depot to honour thecustomer’s alterations.

Retailer C, meanwhile, wanted more newspapers and magazinesto satisfy the extra custom from a building site nearby and fromholidaymakers from the local caravan site.

Yet every request for extra copies he made was overruled and hewas losing sales.

Thanks to NFRN Connect’s efforts, the wholesaler has now putconstraints in place on both the daily and Sunday categories.

NFRN Connect says

Allocations are controlled centrally and not through the localdepot. Any cutbacks that affect your ability to satisfy yourcustomers should be immediately reported to your wholesalerand then to NFRN Connect if unresolved. If you areexperiencing issues with magazines you may benefit from aNewspro health check – further information on this isavailable on the NFRN website and via NFRN Connect.

NFRN Connect says

If you receive a response from your wholesaler that youbelieve to be incorrect or you fail to receive what waspromised, please check with the NFRN Connect team. As inthe case above, highlighting the issue via the cascade systemachieved the desired result.

NEWSPAPERS DITCHEDIt sounded like a comedy of errors when a lorry full of newspapersended up stuck in a ditch after the driver reversed to avoid a bridgethat was too low to drive through.

But it meant that tens of thousands of copies of the Sun, Timesand Telegraph were severely delayed and some retailers failed toreceive any copies of these newspapers at all.

And it was certainly no laughing matter when members whocomplained were told by the publishers that this was a forcemajeure so they would not be compensated for any loss of sales.

Neither NFRN Connect nor the news operations team wereprepared to accept this excuse and set out to ensure that theappropriate restitution was paid. Thanks to their representationsnearly £5,000 was recouped for 67 retailers.

NOT SO SECUREIt was somewhat ironic that the security box that Retailer A hadinvested in to ensure his news supplies were delivered safely endedup being destroyed when a news wholesaler’s van collided with it.

When the retailer contacted his news wholesaler to report theincident and to ask for the box to be replaced, he was told toexpect a telephone call from a manager so this request could be discussed.

After patiently waiting four days for the phone to ring, themember asked NFRN Connect to intervene.

One email to the wholesaler later, a promise was obtained that it would, indeed, provide a new security box.

NFRN Connect says

Members can claim restitution for serious or persistent issuesthat cause customer dissatisfaction and affect your profits. Tohelp you claim compensation, there is a quick guide on theNFRN website. This is also available from NFRN Connect.

HERE TO HELP

NFRN Connect says

In this instance NFRN Connect was ableto support the member and get arefund, but we would suggest thatcertain measures are put in place toensure that if you sell partworks youaren’t left with piles of parts in yourstores. When one of your partworkcustomers goes on holiday we wouldrecommend that you take a depositequating to the cover price of twoparts. And, should you find that aregular customer has failed to collectthe last two issues, we would advisethat you suspend the order until youare able to make contact to confirmwhether the title is still required or not.

PARTWORK PILERetailer D was delighted to accept an orderfor the How Your Body Works partworkfrom one of his regulars and welcomed therepeat business that this would provide.

But when the customer failed to collectthe magazines for three months and thenadvised that she no longer required them,the retailer found parts 52 to 73 wereclogging up his shop.

Not surprisingly, he asked the wholesalerif he could return them for credit, but wastold that only the final four parts would be accepted.

As this would leave him considerably outof pocket, he turned to NFRN Connect.

Initially, NFRN Connect suggested thatthese parts could be supplied to otherretailers who were missing them, but afterinvestigation the wholesaler advised thatthey were not required.

NFRN Connect then informed thedistributor, who was happy to confirm thatit would credit the retailer for all 21 parts.

NFRN Connect says

Don’t lose money unnecessarily! Toensure that you receive all the creditsyou are entitled to it is imperative thatyou check that all claims and all returnshave been processed and honoured –do not assume they are.

If they are missing you must querythis with your news wholesaler at theearliest opportunity and if you are stillunhappy, contact NFRN Connect. Formore information on checking creditsfor other areas of your news business –including returns and vouchers – pleaserefer to the NFRN website.

RETURNS CREDITEDOver a three month period, Retailer F hadreturned hundreds of Women’s Euro 2017stickers, Shopkins Space stickers, partsfrom the Assassin’s Creed collection andnearly 30 different women’s, sports, birdsand craft magazines but had not beencredited for them.

Shortly after asking NFRN Connect forhelp, he was delighted to hear that hisaccount was to be credited to the tune of £730.

NFRN Connect says

Often, third party goods are notimmediately returnable so when youtake delivery it is always worth making anote of the recall date. If you miss thisyou will not be credited for the goodsyou wanted to return. That’s why it’simportant to act quickly, and in theabove instance the retailer was right tocontact NFRN Connect so it could assistin rearranging collection.

It is also worth noting that as part ofyour terms and conditions of supply fornewspapers and magazines, yourbusiness details may legally be passed onto a third party supplier. If you don’twant to receive third party telephonecalls you can opt out via the NFRN’sEnough’s Enough’s campaign. This is easilydone by contacting NFRN Connect.

NFRN Connect says

Things go wrong in business but whenthey have such an impact on the retailerit is only right that restitution is given.Although it has its flaws, there is arestitution process in place for retailersto use. Full details of the criteria can befound in the NFRN quick guide torestitution. If you have suffered a lossutilise NFRN Connect to facilitate theclaim. You have nothing to lose!

MISSING COPIESUnable to open the security shutters on ashop early one morning, the deliverydriver decided not to leave the newssupply out in the open where it could bestolen, but to return it to the depot.

A few hours later the retailersuccessfully gained access to his shop andwas surprised that his newspapers had notarrived. It was only when he complainedto the wholesaler that he received anexplanation as to why the titles had notbeen delivered, but the missing copies didnot then arrive until 8.45am – nearly threehours after the shop opened.

Several HND rounds were severelydelayed and extra costs totalling £90 wereincurred in delivering the papers.

NFRN Connect assisted the member inmaking a claim for restitution.

NFRN Connect says

If you have had difficulty obtainingtitles from your wholesaler pleasecontact NFRN Connect and we willcontact both the wholesalers andpublishers on your behalf in an effort toobtain the copy for you and yourcustomer. We recommend you alwaysseek authorisation from the wholesalerbefore you purchase copies elsewhereto ensure credit will be passed.

SHORT SUPPLYWith a customer expecting to takedelivery of the latest editions of ScaleAviation Modeller and Aeroplane Monthly,HND Retailer G was understandablyfrustrated when told that her wholesalerdepot had been short supplied and thesewere unavailable.

This frustration turned to fury whenlater in the day she found several copiesof both magazines on display in a highstreet store.

She purchased the two copies sherequired, but asked NFRN Connect toconfirm that she would be reimbursed bythe wholesaler on production of a receipt.

LOST CONNECTIONRetailer E called on NFRN Connect after hekept losing the telephone connection for hisPayPoint terminal.

Originally he contacted the companydirectly but it just sent him a new terminalwhich did not resolve the problem.

It then told him the problem was with histelephone line but this had been checked byBT who confirmed that there was no fault.

After NFRN Connect asked PayPoint toinvestigate further, it agreed to send out an engineer.

NFRN Connect says

If you have referred to your retailerhandbook and spoken with thesupplier without success, contactNFRN Connect who will be happy tolook into your query further.

THIRD PARTY RETURNSRetailer H was more than happy to takedelivery of non-news products via hiswholesaler and trial them in his store andwould make a careful note of when anyunsolds needed to be returned.

So when a parcel containing £1,500worth of e-cigarettes, 3D glasses and selfiesticks had not been collected by UK Mailhe involved NFRN Connect.

It chased the supplier who promptlycontacted the member to rearrangecollection.


NEWSPRO

DRIVE MAGAZINE SALES

WITH CHRISTMAS FAST APPROACHING, MAGAZINE DISTRIBUTORFRONTLINE HAS PUT TOGETHER SOME HANDY HINTS TO HELP YOUBOOST MAGAZINE SALES DURING THE FESTIVE SEASON.

FRONTLINE’S FESTIVE TIPS TO

November and December have always been busy months in theretail sector and these festive tips will ensure your magazinedisplay is an essential draw to customers during their festive

shopping trip. Encourage browsing by fully facing these magazinesto add more revenue to your magazine sales!

For food fans, preparations for

Christmas start in October. Increaseyour space for food titles and create an

impactful display. Good Food is the clear marketleader on sale October 26 with a FREE calendar andover 100 festive recipes. To drive impulse sales stockmore fabulous cookery titles. We recommend BBC

Home Cooking Series, Olive, Easy Cook, Food to Loveand TAB My Favourite Recipes. These will cover all

cookery levels and interests and will encouragemulti-purchase. The food category will be in a

seasonal high from late October through tothe New Year when customers turn

their interest to healthy eating.

TIP 1:

Christmas wouldn’t beChristmas without your share of

more than £1.29 million! Last year Radio Times,TV Choice and Total TV Guide delivered more

than £1.29 million in the independent channel onthe Christmas issues alone! Radio Times Christmas

issue was the biggest RSV driving issue of ALLmagazines, while TV Choice was the highest

volume selling title of ANY magazine. Displaythese with multiple facings in the most

prominent position of your magazine displayto secure your share of the revenue.

Double issues are on sale fromDecember 9 2017.

TIP 3:

Get set for 2018. Fateand Fortune and Spirit and

Destiny, both on sale November23, will be the best selling issues

of the year as your customersseek inspiration andmotivation for the

year ahead.

TIP 4:

Helpyour customers

with gift ideas and stockingfillers. Whether it’s Closer, Stuff or Modern

Gardens our magazines will help readers decidewhat to buy as presents, how to plan for the

festive period or, indeed, offer an extra gift such asa calendar. Look out for our special issues on

wholesale communications and on the NFRN websitewww.nfrnonline.com. There are too many

publications to mention but we would highlyrecommend supporting Gardeners World, Top

Gear, Classic & Sportscar, Modern Gardens,Take a Break Series, Stuff, CountryWalking and CBeebies, to mention

a few that will boost your sales.

TIP 2:


STORE2DOOR

As well as running a successful newsagentsin Woodmancote near Cheltenham inGloucestershire for the past 13 years,Graham Lewis (left) delivers newspapersand magazines to numerous outlyingvillages. He has two delivery vans andemploys 14 paperboys.

When a new build community storethat had been set up to service a growingestate of new houses decided it wantedto sell news, it approached Mr Lewis for asupply. Here he tells us more.

“I was approached a couple of years ago by the store as they had seen medelivering in the area. The managementwanted to sell newspapers but didn’t wantto stump up the deposit demanded bythe news wholesaler and couldn’t justifythe weekly carriage charge. Initially, I wasconcerned that my existing HNDcustomers in the area would simply moveacross to the shop and this would meanmore work for less profit. However, myfears proved unjustified as when I startedthe supply my existing customers

remained with me as they preferred to gettheir paper delivered rather than having tovisit a shop. Meanwhile, the store salessoon grew to over £100 per week which,with a small administration charge,provided a regular profit with very littleextra work.

“You don’t need expensive EPoSsystems to be a host retailer – just keep itsimple. I use a paper based roundsmanagement system and created a simpleexcel spreadsheet which allows me tomanage the account.

“I have found sub retailing very straightforward and would snap up anotheropportunity if one came up in my existingdistribution area.”

Ann Pritchard is a volunteer at TheOrchard Stores in Stoke Orchard,Gloucestershire, which Mr Lewis supplies.She told The Fed: “Graham’s deliveryservice is invaluable to us. Manycustomers come in for a newspaper andalways buy something else. Without newsI don’t think the store would be viable.

SUB RETAILING SUWITH SMITHS NEWS RECENT 3.96 PER CENT CARRIAGE CHARGE HIKE AND PUBLISHERS SQUEEZINGMARGINS TO AS LITTLE AS 10 PER CENT, SUB RETAILING IS GETTING MORE ATTRACTIVE TO MANY SMALLNEWS RETAILERS. THE FED WENT DOWN TO GLOUCESTERSHIRE TO FIND OUT HOW IT WORKS.



CCESSHERE’S HOW IT WORKSThe costs of delivery via the normal routesimply wouldn’t work for us!”

NFRN news business developmentmanager Phil Williams said a cocktail ofrising carriage charges, falling margins,declining sales and increasing labour andrunning costs is pushing more smallerretailers to the brink.

“Now, more than ever, retailers shouldreassess their businesses and seriouslyconsider the sub retail model as the onlycost effective way of receiving their news supply.”

While sub retailing can benefit largeraccounts, it is those shops that are takingunder £350 per week that wouldpotentially benefit most.

Meanwhile, for successful news retailerslike Graham Lewis, host retailing is apotential profit generator and a way tooffset the costs associated with running anews account.

Around 5,000 independent retailersalready receive their supply through thesub retailing route and both publishers

and news wholesalers now recognise itand have agreed to lend their support.

There are 5,000 words of advice on sub retailing on NFRN Online, the NFRN’swebsite. This can be accessed atnfrnonline.com/grow/news-mags/subretailing/.

Here you will find help and guidancewith all aspects of sub retailing, includingagreements, costs, pitfalls and thebenefits. For those who have read theadvice and who need a little extra supportwe are happy to talk things through withyou – simply call Store2Door on 0800 9178884. If you know of shops in your areathat would like you to supply but areunsure how to go about it, contactStore2Door on the above telephonenumber. We will be happy to explain howyou can set up a local distribution!

As Mr Williams says, sub retailing is awin for both host retailers and those whoreceive the supply. “Sub retailing offerssolutions to those looking to expand theirreach by supplying other outlets or for

those with a low weekly turnover whowant to increase their profitability fromthe category.”

CONSIDER A SUBRETAIL SUPPLY IF• Your news sales are under

£350 a week.• You don’t currently stock

news but would like to.• News is a very small part of

your in store offering and youwant it to be less onerous.

öI have found sub retailing very straight forward andwould snap up another opportunity if one came up inmy existing distribution area.õ


NEWS PRO

With i-Menzies preparing to debut a suite of new features and upgrades thisautumn, Menzies Distribution has beenrunning a major campaign to recruit new and returning users to its online customer portal.

Available as a website or as asmartphone and tablet app, i-Menzies isthe simplest and most convenient way forcustomers of Menzies Distribution tomanage their news and magazineaccounts. More than 14,000 retailers everymonth use the service to register claims,make changes to standing orders, view orprint paperwork, check recall dates andmore – all without spending a singlepenny or second on phone calls.

The forthcoming improvements willfocus on those parts of the system whichare most actively used by customers,primarily the order managementfunctions. Based on current activity,Menzies projects that more than 2.5million changes to order levels will havebeen made within the year by the end of December.

“The audience for i-Menzies has beengrowing steadily since its creation, but the pace of growth has picked up since

we relaunched the site in 2014,” said Dave Shedden, head of communications at Menzies.

“One of the aspects our users weremost keen to see developed was ordermanagement. Under the original versionthey told us it could sometimes bedifficult to see when an order change wasgoing to apply permanently, or just for thenext upcoming issue. We’ve addressedthat by designing a new interface which,once implemented, will allow users toclearly and simply toggle their screenbetween the two options.”

To raise awareness of the changes, thenews wholesaler recently ran a retailcompetition offering new orreturning users free entry into a prize draw with an Apple iPad presented to the winner.

Mr Shedden said: “Wealready think that usingi-Menzies will make ourcustomers’ lives easier, soit made sense to offer aprize which would makelogging on easier, too! Itwas definitely our hope that

the prize will encourage customers to givethe site a try, but in the longer term webelieve it’s the savings in time and cost –not to mention the convenience of a 24hour service accessible anywhere – whichwill keep them coming back.”

Commenting on the latest additions,NFRN head of news Brian Murphy said:“We have worked closely with Menzies onthe development of this platform and arevery pleased with the progress made. Weurge members to have a look at it andtake advantage of the enhancements toincrease their news category profits.”To try i-Menzies for yourself visit www.i-menzies.com.

THIS AUTUMN NEWS WHOLESALER MENZIES DISTRIBUTION ISUNVEILING SOME ENHANCEMENTS TO I-MENZIES FOLLOWINGFEEDBACK FROM NFRN MEMBERS. THE FED FINDS OUT MORE.

MENZIES UPGRADES CUSTOMER ONLINE PORTAL

SIX REASONS TOUSE I-MENZIES✓ Register claims ✓ Manage your orders✓ Access all your documents✓ Available anyway and

anytime✓ Keep up to date on

important news, deliveryupdates and more

✓ Check recall dates

öOne of the aspectsour users were most keen to seedeveloped was order management.õ


NEWSPAPER MARGINS AND RATES

Monday to Friday editions

Price Margin per copy (pence)

Daily Mail 65p 14.50

Daily Record 70p 14.98

Daily Record Scot 70p 14.98

Daily Star 30p 7.26

Express 55p 13.31

Express Scot 50p 12.10

FT £2.70 54.00

Guardian £2.00 44.00

Herald £1.30 29.90

i 60p 13.02

Mirror 70p 14.98

Mirror Scot 75p 16.05

Racing Post £2.40 55.00

Scotsman £1.50 33.70

Sun 50p 11.15

Telegraph £1.60 34.40

Times £1.60 34.44

Saturday newspapers


Daily Mail £1.00 21.00

Daily Record £1.00 21.40

Daily Star 50p 12.08

Express 80p 17.15

Express Scot 80p 18.00

FT £3.80 85.88

Guardian £2.90 63.80

Herald £1.70 39.10

i 80p 17.02

Mirror £1.10 22.66

Mirror Scot £1.00 21.00


Scotsman £1.95 43.80

Sun 70p 14.98

Telegraph £2.00 48.00

Times £1.70 36.55

Sunday newspapers


Mail on Sunday £1.70 35.70

Star on Sunday 90p 19.89

Sunday Express £1.40 29.65

Sunday Herald £1.70 35.70

Sunday Mirror £1.50 31.50

Observer £3.00 73.50

Sunday People £1.50 31.50


Scotland on Sunday £1.70 39.95

Sun on Sunday £1.10 23.00

Sunday Mail £1.70 35.70

Sunday Mail Scot £1.70 35.70

Sunday Sport £1.00 24.30

Sunday Telegraph £2.00 45.50

Sunday Times £2.70 56.70

Highest margin Lowest margin

NEWSPAPER PAYMENTSYour at a glance guide to newspaper margins and payment rates for handling third party inserts

Insert weight Original Scheme

Mail Mirror News Uk Guardian Telegraph

Cumulative No Yes No No No No

0-69g n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

70-100g 1.50p 2.50p 2.57p 2.70p 2.75p 2.93p

101-200g 2.00p 3.00p 3.36p 3.30p 3.35p 3.65p

201-300g 4.00p 5.00p 6.09p 5.50p 5.75p 6.26p

301-400g 5.00p 7.00p 7.43p 6.70p 7.00p 7.06p

401-500g * 7.50p * * * *

Over 500g * 8.00p * * * *

* By negotiation

PAYMENTS FOR THIRD PARTY ADVERTISING INSERTS

You must be registered with your wholesaler to receive payments

STARTER PACK: £5.99RRP

TRADING CARD PACKETS: £1.00RRP

@OfficialPanini#GOTGOTNEED

www.paninigroup.com

© The FIFA name and OLP Logo are

copyright or trademark protected by FIFA.

All rights reserved.

BRAND NEW2018!

ON SALE NOW! www.adrenalynpf365.com

#G TTG TTTNEOOTOO

EED


Two prizes of £50 cash must be won!

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To include your event:

[email protected] DIARY DATES

OCTOBER 2017Tuesday 3 ROI DE

Yorkshire DCTuesday 10 NEC

Northern Ireland DCWednesday 11 NEC

NFCWednesday 18 Scottish DCTuesday 24 Northern DEWednesday 25 North West DC

NOVEMBER 2017Sunday 5 North West district

dinner dance

Tuesday 7 SOCThursday 9 Wales DCMonday 13 NECTuesday 14 NEC

NFCYorkshire DE

Thursday 16 East Midlands DCFriday 17 Northern district

charity ballTuesday 21 National CouncilWednesday 22 National Council

NFRN AwardsMonday 27 West Midlands DCTuesday 28 ROI DE

Tuesday 28 Northern DCEastern Counties DCLondon DC

DECEMBER 2017Monday 4 North West DC

South East DCTuesday 5 NECWednesday 6 NECThursday 7 Scottish DETuesday 12 South West DC

Northern Ireland DCMonday 25 Christmas DayTuesday 26 Boxing Day

enough’s enough end carriage charges · the future hold for the customer?’ at igd wholesaling...

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