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The Voice of Independent Retailers
Treats
Christmas snacks
PML
Iluma and heat
Crime
Action at last?
Light Up
Cigar time
17th November to 14th December 2023
Volume 35 No. 934
Toasty
Raise a glass
16
Anti-crime Project Pegasus
steers into headwinds
Festive Tobacco
Festive Snacks
50
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4 NEWS
Leader: How could we possibly have known?
Anti-crime Project Pegasus steers into
headwinds
‘Address business rate reform or high streets will
struggle’
‘Theft by employees rapidly growing in
distribution centres’
‘Worst of inflation is behind us’ – Morrisons’
departing boss
New themed advent calendars ruling Christmas
season
Russia has ‘stolen our business’, says Carlsberg
chief says
Government urged to address wholesale crime
RAC calls on major retailers to cut petrol price
Price rises slow, but shoppers remain shy
‘There will be more empty shelves in 2024’
Guest column: Top tipple tips for Christmas
9 MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Keeping up with the latest industry moves and
promotions
10 NEWS FEATURE:
ABANDONED AND
VULNERABLE
‘It is time that voices of indie retailers get heard
so that both the government and public know
what they are going through.’
12 “NOT” TWITTER
The best observations and comments from
retailers (and friends) on the ground
13 WORLD OF WHOLESALE
A regular round-up of news and views in the
wholesale sector
14 AWARD-WINNER
INTERVIEW
Amrit Singh of H & Jodie’s Nisa Local in the
West midlands is a one-man entrepreneurial
hurricane as well as a pillar of his community
16 FEATURE: FESTIVE
TOBACCO
Christmastime means tobacco-related gifts –
smoking stock-ups, cigar treats, and essential
accessories remain some of the best stocking-
fillers around
27 FEATURE: FESTIVE
CHOCOLATES AND
CONFECTIONERY
Consumers are treating themselves and filling
the bowls of sweet treats around the house as
the festive season approaches
36 ME AND MY BRAND:
IQOS ILUMA
PML’s Harry Wake on how the IQOS heated
tobacco concept is delivering
a step-change in technology and quality with
the launch of ILUMA
38 FEATURE: FESTIVE
ALCOHOL
Times might be tough, but Christmas is always
special, and it deserves a good toast. So, stock
wide and well and cheers to good times
47 MUST STOCK
The latest product news
50 FEATURE: FESTIVE
SNACKS
Cakes, biscuits, nuts, crisps and all things
nibblicious can found on the tables and
sideboards across the land over the holidays, so
make sure it’s all from your store
55 GUJARATI
Wine and Bubbles
17th November to 14th December 2023
THE VOICE OF INDEPENDENT RETAILERS
VOLUME 35 NUMBER 934
NEWS
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Without addressing business
rates, the high street will
struggle to thrive, consulting
adviser to mid-market
business leaders RSM UK has
warned.
The UK’s biggest retailers
will be slapped with a £400
million increase in business
rates next year as Jeremy Hunt
looks to prioritise corporate tax
reliefs that promote invest-
ment.
“With subdued growth in
retail sales in recent months,
and as retailers continue to
grapple with increasing cost
pressures, the prospect of a rise
in business rates next year will
be crippling news for some,”
said Jacqui Baker, head of retail
at RSM.
The chancellor is under-
stood to have decided against
freezing rates for larger
retailers despite warnings that
an increase would cost jobs and
hit the high street. Business
rate bills for larger retailers
could rise 6.7% in the spring.
“Freezing business rates will
be vital for the survival of many
retailers, so it will be disap-
pointing if this isn’t on the
agenda in the Autumn State-
ment,” added Baker.
‘Address business rate reform
or high streets will struggle’
How could we possibly
have known?
his week, let’s talk a little about what is obvious in
terms of likely consequences, and which should
prompt the comment: “Well, what did they think
would happen?”
To begin with, here are two recent headlines that were
deemed newsworthy by the national media. The first,
“Self-checkouts leading to fall in supermarket vacancies”,
has all the revelatory power of a phrase such as “the sun rises
in the east”. The multiples are apparently finding it difficult
to attract shoppers back to their over-priced warehouses
following the renaissance of local life at the c-store level. The
realisation that people generally loathe enforced electronic
solutions such as endlessly faulty – not to mention patronis-
ing – computer checkouts, is no surprise. The fact that they
prefer talking to a human at a counter shouldn’t be a surprise
either.
The next headline perhaps also lacks a “slap my head in
shock” quality, because when we read that “Frequent ‘buy
now, pay later’ users more likely to be in financial straits”, we
are not entirely dumbfounded. In fact, you can almost
understand how further money troubles might ensue for
those who are offered tempting financial “solutions” to their
predicaments.
And yet, such things happen, always happen, continue
happening, and are always so endlessly alerting that Fleet
Street leaps up from its perch at the bar and heads back to the
office immediately to file the story. Unpredictable headlines
(such as this favourite from a few weeks ago: “Naked opera
singer armed with bow and arrow went on rampage at care
home”) are these days sadly rarer.
Yet the complicated theoretical equation of “A leads
directly to B” is clearly beyond the understanding of many in
public life. When at last, for example, the government
unveiled a plan named Project Pegasus to deal with the
epidemic of crime that retailers are suffering under – and
which now appears to be turning parabolic – a delegation of
libertarians and organisations worried about the effect on
the Criminals’ Lib movement predictably raised the alarm
about how thieves’ rights to steal might be impacted by facial
recognition technology.
Given the choice between electronic checkouts or
security cameras, we know which most retailers would go for
(the opposite of what 100% of shoplifters would go for, of
course). What is unsurprising is that retailers are worried that
Project Pegasus is going to be “all hat and no cattle”.
Likewise, if a doctor was asked what he would prefer – the
chance to get the population off tobacco and onto vapes, or
more cancer – he would almost always choose vapes, even
with illegal products and illicit sales currently running
rampant (and which are already illegal of course).
But going back to the obvious, and predicting inevita-
ble consequences, what is going to happen in this upcom-
ing election year? If you are a politician, it is clearly much
more tempting to ban vapes – which will get you good
headlines and easy interview questions – than to crack
down on shoplifters, which is expensive and messy, and
will lead to you being called a fascist.
Retailers are being urged to pull
out of a new policing strategy
including Project Pegasus amid
warnings it will “amplify exist-
ing inequalities in the criminal
justice system” and might result
in wrongly criminalising people
of colour, women and LGBTQ+
people.
A coalition of 14 human rights
groups has written to the main
retailers – also including Marks &
Spencer, the Co-op, Next, Boots
and Primark – saying that their
participation in a new govern-
ment-backed scheme that relies
heavily on facial recognition
technology to combat shoplift-
ing, The Guardian reported.
The letter, from Liberty,
Amnesty International and Big
Brother Watch, among others,
questions the unchecked rollout
of a technology that has provoked
fierce criticism over its impact on
privacy and human rights at a
time when the European Union is
seeking to ban the technology in
public spaces through proposed
legislation.
“Facial recognition technolo-
gy notoriously misidentifies
people of colour, women and
LGBTQ+ people, meaning that
already marginalised groups are
more likely to be subject to an
invasive stop by police, or at
increased risk of physical
surveillance, monitoring and
harassment by workers in your
stores,” the letter states.
The letter also state that the
move will “reverse steps” that big
retailers introduced during the
Black Lives Matter movement,
including high-profile commit-
ments to be champions of
diversity, equality and inclusion.
Critics say using biometric
surveillance could impinge on a
person’s “freedom of expression”
and deter people from protesting.
“Deploying this biometric
surveillance to track protesters is
an authoritarian step that aligns
the UK with the likes of Russia
and China,” said Madeleine Stone
of Big Brother Watch.
Protest over ‘authoritarian’ facial recognition plan
Anti-crime Project Pegasus
Anti-crime Project Pegasus
steers into headwinds
steers into headwinds
17 NOVEMBER 2023 ASIAN TRADER 5
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NEWS/COMMENT
Employees, working in distri-
bution centres (DCs), distribu-
tion and stores, account for %
of value of theft, a recent re-
port has stated.
According to a report
released by Thruvision Group
plc along with Retail Econom-
ics, retailers forecast that theft
will cost them £7.9bn this
year. Shoppers account for
60% of the value of the theft
(£4.7bn) while employees,
working in distribution
centres (DCs), distribution
and stores, account for 40%
(£3.2bn).
Theft in DCs is the employ-
ee crime that is under-report-
ed by retailers with some
42.6% (£1.4bn) of the total
employee theft from DCs,
states the report.
Around two thirds of
retailers interviewed believe
that over the past decade the
opportunity for crime in DCs
has accelerated. Among those
that have seen an increase in
employee theft over the past
year, 70% state they have seen
an increase in organised crime
in DCs.
“That employee theft is a
rapidly growing problem is not
a surprise, but the scale of
financial losses suffered by UK
retailers in their distribution
centres really is,” said CEO
Colin Evans. “What is even
more surprising is that so few
retailers seem to be prepared
to deal with this very serious
problem when proven
technology solutions exist –
only one in six retailers are
investing in detection and
deterrence technology to solve
Distribution Centre theft.”
Richard Lim, CEO of Retail
Economics, added: “Retail
crime adds to a backdrop of
rising operating costs that
have squeezed profitability in
recent years. Proactive
measures not only curb the
impact of theft, but also
cultivate a safer environment,
attracting talent and fortify-
ing the industry.”
Good vanishing out the back before walking out the front
‘Theft by employees rapidly
‘Theft by employees rapidly
growing in distribution centres’
growing in distribution centres’
David Potts said the heat
is leaving inflation, but
added a warning that
vegetable lines were
likely to surge in price
ahead of Christmas.
Potts is departing the
former top-four multiple
after eight years at the
helm. He is succeeded by
Rami Baitieh, formerly of
Carrefour, the French
grocery giant. Under Potts’s
tenure the supermarket
chain acquired McColls
convenience shop chain.
“There’s a bit more
inflation coming through
on veg, some salad lines,
which is partly the erratic
weather action that’s been
going on in recent times”, he
said.
“But the trend is very
much on the downward side
of inflation… we’ve made
some further price cuts this
week. Next week we’re
reducing our Christmas
basket by £2 year-on-
year”.
Official figures from
the Office for National
Statistics (ONS) show the
consumer price index
measure of inflation stood
at 6.7% in the year up to
August, down from a
recent high of 11% in
October last year.
According to British
Retail Consortium, annual
shop price inflation dropped
again to 5.2% in October
from 6.2% in September, the
lowest rate since August
2022.
‘Worst of inflation is behind us’
– Morrisons’ departing boss
Top tipple tips
Top tipple tips
for Christmas
for Christmas
Nick Gillett is Co-founder and
Managing
Director of
successful
spirits distribu-
tor Mangrove
Global, as well as
an industry
expert and
commentator. Nick advocates
for bold and daring independ-
ent producers and here he
explains the opportunity
independent brands present to
alcohol wholesalers.
There’s no two ways about it –
home-entertaining is going to be BIG
this Christmas. And as people
venture out to their friends, or host
parties at home, they’ll need to stock
up on some delicious spirits to fuel
the merriment.
To make the most of it, put time
and effort into your range. Cover all
categories, stock a couple of
premium options for those who are
looking for a bottle of something
nice, and as always – be willing to
impart a little knowledge by reading
up on your selection. With the rise of
at-home cocktail making, you might
want to create bottle bundles
complete with recipe cards, or even
stock some well-chosen RTD
varieties. If you’re new to the world of
RTDs, start with a lower price point
option, and if you think you have the
right custom for it, a premium option.
There really are some delicious
pre-mixed cocktails out there – and
they’re so convenient for consuming
at home, or even en route to the
Christmas party.
The second thing to remember is
that spirits are the golden goose of
gifting. If in doubt, a nice bottle of
something is always an excellent
prezzie. Don’t be afraid to level up
your range with some new additions
and make these stand out on the
shelves. In the run up to the festive
period, brands will be going out their
way to help you promote, so make
the most of any initiatives available.
Oh – and make sure you have those
perfectly sized bottle gift bags
located conveniently close too!
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With Christmas just weeks
away, advent calendars are
surging in popularity, a recent
report has stated, adding that
beauty and alcohol advent
calendars, especially beer-
themed, has gained the most
traction.
According to new data from
Taboola, advent calendars are
surging in popularity by 295%,
which is 83% more than
traditional holiday staples like
Christmas cards.
Beauty advent calendars
have seen the most dramatic
jump, with a 1,738% increase in
readership during this period.
Content about these calendars
have been viewed more than
20,000 times, compared to just
9,200 for general Christmas
gifts. Beauty calendars made up
31 per cent of all advent calendar
sales last year, states the report.
Other advent calendar
categories are also gaining
traction, like alcohol advent
calendars, especially beer-
themed, that grew to 13 per cent
as well as adult-themed advent
calendars increased 36 per cent
to become the fourth most
popular at 10 per cent.
With 35 per cent of sales
across stationary, candles,
luxury chocolates, speciality
teas and more, there are
significant opportunities for
niche brands to tap into demand
for unique advent calendar
experiences. As preferences
shift from mass-market to
personalised, specialised
options are expected to thrive
this Christmas.
“We’re seeing a unique trend
of demand emerging for advent
calendars in the UK, which is
unlike any other market,” Dave
Struzzi, communications lead
at Taboola comments. “Tradi-
tionally, consumer interest in
these products happens later in
the holiday season with choco-
late-themed items, but this year
we’re seeing beauty and novelty
categories such as alcohol, adult-
themed and fashion calendars
shaking up the traditional choc-
olate countdown.”
‘Little prezzie every day’ dominates households’ festive prep
New themed advent calendars
New themed advent calendars
ruling Christmas season
ruling Christmas season
Carlsberg has cut all ties
with its Russian business
and refuses to enter a
deal with Russia’s
government that would
make its seizure of the
assets look legitimate,
the brewer’s new chief
executive said.
The Danish group has
since last year been trying
to sell its Baltika subsidiary
in Russia, following in the
footsteps of many other
Western companies exiting
Russia since its invasion of
Ukraine.
However, after the
company announced in
June it had found a buyer
for its business, Russian
president Vladimir Putin
the following month
ordered the temporary
seizure of Carlsberg’s stake
in the local brewer.
“There is no way around
the fact that they have
stolen our business in
Russia, and we are not going
to help them make that
look legitimate,” said
Jacob Aarup-Andersen,
who took over as chief
executive in September.
Carlsberg had eight
breweries and about
8,400 employees in
Russia, and took a 9.9
billion kroner (£1.16bn)
write-down on Baltika last
year.
Aarup-Andersen said
that from the limited
interactions with Baltika’s
management and Russian
authorities since July,
Carlsberg had not been able
to find any acceptable
solution.
Russia has ‘stolen our business’,
says Carlsberg chief says
Snappy Shopper partners
Snappy Shopper partners
with Trust Payments
with Trust Payments
Snappy Shopper has teamed up
with Trust Retail, part of the Trust
Payments Group, an EPOS
supplier, to integrate its technolo-
gy with Snappy Shopper retailers,
as part of the latest efforts to aid
retailers’ growth.
It will allow Snappy Shopper’s
retailers to achieve quicker
deliveries and control a bigger
and more relevant store range to
aid improved basket spend and
all-round store efficiency. This is
achieved by Trust Payments’
ability to offer retailers real-time
stock checking, pricing and sales
updates to reduce retailer time
spent on administrative tasks.
Asda completes
Asda completes
purchase of EG Group
purchase of EG Group
Asda said it has completed the
acquisition of EG Group’s UK &
Ireland business for a value of
£2.07 billion. EG Group, a petrol
forecourt operator and retailer,
and Asda are both owned by
brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa
and private equity group TDR
Capital.
The deal, creating a group with
combined revenue of nearly £28
billion, was announced in May,
when the value was put at £2.27
billion. Asda’s strategy is to boost
its convenience store presence by
rolling out Asda Express stores
across EG’s 356 UK sites.
Expo Foods joins
Expo Foods joins
Sugro UK
Sugro UK
Wholesale company Expo Foods
has joined Sugro UK, the mem-
ber-owned buying and marketing
group comprising over 90
independent wholesalers.
Based in Doncaster with an
additional depot in London, Expo
has been trading since 2008. The
cash & carry as well as delivered
wholesaler carries a wide range of
ethnic impulse, ambient grocery,
alcohol and dairy, as well as fruits,
vegetables, processed meat and
fish.
The recruitment of Expo Foods
(Midlands) by Sugro has added
£13 million to the group’s existing
buying power of over £2 billion.
17 NOVEMBER 2023 ASIAN TRADER 7
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Wholesalers have united to call
on the Government to ensure
the sector is included in the
forthcoming Crime Bill.
Writing to Home Secretary
Suella Braverman MP, James
Bielby, Chief Executive of the
FWD said, “The food and drink
wholesale sector in the UK is
integral to the operation of
72,000 retailers and 350,000
caterers, the majority of which
are small businesses.
“With approximately £10
billion-worth of trade passing
through cash-and-carry
depots, it has become
commonplace for personal
belongings and purchases,
including bags of tobacco
worth up to £5,000, to be
stolen from customers in cash
and carry car parks and then
sold on the unrestricted black
market.” There has also been
an increase in thefts of
tobacco from wholesale
vehicles in transit, with
limited police response.
FWD says that the loss of
these high-value items is
costing legitimate wholesale
business and the Exchequer
and that more support is
needed from the police.
Wholesalers have played their
part by investing in crime
prevention measures and in
some cases, criminals have
been caught on CCTV, yet cases
are often unpursued by the
police.
“Many thefts potentially
endanger our members, their
employees, and customers,”
Mr Bielby says. Incorporating
wholesale in the Crime Bill will
help support both individuals
and businesses.
As part of its commitment to
support its wholesale members,
FWD’s crime reporting system
collates incidents to monitor
the rate and severity of crime.
This follows a recent FWD
survey where 100% of wholesal-
ers, representing 80% of the
industry, identified crime as one
of their foremost concerns,
primarily attributed to
inadequate police responsive-
ness.
New crime bill needs to take account of depot woes
Government urged to
Government urged to
address wholesale crime
address wholesale crime
The RAC has urged UK
fuel retailers to cut the
price of petrol by at
least 5p a litre to 150p
to reflect far lower
wholesale costs.
The motoring
organisation said the
government’s 5p duty
cut brought in shortly
after Russia’s 2022
invasion of Ukraine is
hurting drivers struggling
to cope with the cost-of-liv-
ing crisis and appears only to
be helping retailers who
have chosen to up their
margins.
With oil trading around
$90 a barrel and sterling
being worth just $1.20, the
delivered wholesale price of
petrol averaged just over
113p last week which means,
with the UK average price of
unleaded standing at
155.33p, average
retailer margin was
more than 16p a litre
before VAT is applied,
the RAC noted, adding
that this is in “stark
contrast” to the
long-term average of 7p
a litre and is even far
higher the 10p margin
that smaller, independ-
ent retailers argue is
now fair due to inflation.
Even diesel, which is
currently averaging 162p
across the country, is
overpriced by around 4p a
litre, with an average
retailer margin of 12p.
RAC calls on major retailers
to cut petrol price
If you have any news stories
please contact our newsdesk
on 020 7654 7792
Heineken warns of
Heineken warns of
demand slowdown
demand slowdown
Dutch brewing giant Heineken said it
sold less beer in the Q3, noting that
higher prices and apoor economic
outlook affected consumer demand.
The company, whose stable of
brands includes Amstel, Sol and Tiger,
sold 63.2 million hectolitres of beer in
the three months to end of Septem-
ber, a drop of 5.4%.
Like many firms, Heineken raised
prices as inflation hit the cost of its
inputs, so overall revenues still rose,
edging 2.0% higher compared to the
same quarter last year to €9.6 billion
(£8.37bn) during the quarter.
Seabrook Crisps expands
Seabrook Crisps expands
in Bradford
in Bradford
One of Bradford’s biggest success
stories has been given the approval to
expand its factory – boosting jobs and
securing its future in the city in the
process.
Earlier this year Seabrook Crisps
revealed plans for a “significant
expansion” of its Duncombe Street
factory in Bradford.
The company said the existing
factory could not meet the demand for
Seabrook’s iconic crinkle-cut crisps.
The expansion would also increase
the number of jobs at the site by at
least 15 – taking the total number of
employees at the HQ to 123.
AG Barr acquires drinks
AG Barr acquires drinks
brand Rio
brand Rio
Irn-Bru maker AG Barr has announced
the acquisition of the Rio soft drinks
brand from Hall and Woodhouse
Limited, the independent brewer and
pub company, for £12.3 million.
Rio has been marketed, sold and
distributed on an exclusive licence
basis by AG Barr’s recently acquired
Boost Drinks division since 2021.
AG Barr said it wanted to secure
the long-term position of the Rio
brand within its wider portfolio,
adding that the transaction is not
expected to have a material impact on
the group’s profits for the current
financial year.
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Packaged goods-makers in-
cluding Unilever and Nestle
disappointed investors with
weak third-quarter sales vol-
umes, but that could change
in the coming months as price
increases moderate.
Companies have hiked
prices since the Covid-19
pandemic to make up for
higher costs, prompting
some shoppers to look for better
deals. The slide in sales volumes
of big brands only grew worse
after the Ukraine war sparked a
cost-of-living crisis.
Top US and European
investors this year have flagged
their concerns about high prices
to consumer goods companies.
But even though prices are
beginning to moderate,
consumers have not rushed
back.
Companies need to do more
to convince investors that sales
volumes can return to growth,
Richard Saldanha, an Aviva
portfolio manager, said in an
interview.
“Across the board, organic
growth has been price driven
and what we want to see is
more of a balance between
volume and price,” he said,
noting the cost of raw materi-
als has decreased and that he
hopes prices moderate as a
result.
Unilever met market
expectations for third-quar-
ter sales growth after raising
prices at a slower rate.
“In terms of where pricing
is going from here, I think
we’ll see a continued fall in
underlying price growth, but
I don’t think that’s going to go
negative,” chief financial officer
Graeme Pitkethly said.
Nestle, the world’s biggest
packaged food maker, last
Thursday posted lower-than-ex-
pected nine-month sales growth
as higher product prices made
shoppers balk.
Similarly, Tide detergent
maker P&G this month report-
ed weak sales volumes but said
this was stabilising and would
start to pick up.
Goods majors are struggling to win back consumers
Lee Stiles of the Lea Valley
Growers Association has
stated that there is likely to be
reduced availability in the fruit
and vegetable aisle again in
2024, saying all of this came
true this year, yet nobody
seems to be aware that this will
continue.
Writing in Fruitnet, Stiles
explained how the govern-
ment is set to review the
horticulture supply chain
though at the same time, it is
also putting pressure on
supermarkets to reduce food
prices. As a result, supermar-
kets are already asking
growers for lower prices at a
time when energy costs are
increasing. In addition, hidden
outlays such as standing
charges and transportation
costs are going up by 600%,
and labour costs are rising.
“It is at this time of year
that growers negotiate
prices for next year and
make decisions on
whether to plant in Decem-
ber/January ready for
February/March. If prices are
not right, this could shorten
the British growing season to
around six months for some
producers.
“This year, during the
empty shelves crisis, the
government told supermar-
kets to source food from
further afield. Overseas
growers decided to send their
produce to Europe instead of
the UK for higher prices as
British supermarkets refuse to
flex from fixed contracts.
“Next year, there will
simply be less fresh produce
from certain key sources,
regardless of whether they
experience adverse weather
events. Plant viruses are rife,
and thousands of acres of
overseas tomatoes and
peppers will be wasted.”
Stiles further warned that
the majority of fresh produce is
waived into the UK without
virus checks on the border.
This will again increase food
prices, and overseas growers
will again send produce to the
highest-paying market, which
will not be the UK.
‘There will be more empty
shelves in 2024’
Price rises slow, but
Price rises slow, but
shoppers remain shy
shoppers remain shy
Higher prices boost
Higher prices boost
Unilever sales
Unilever sales
Price rises continue to boost sales
at Unilever, the FMCG giant behind
popular brands like Dove soap,
Marmite and Magnum ice-cream.
Unilever has reported underlying
sales growth of 5.2% for the third
quarter of the year, after it hiked its
prices again. Average prices rose by
5.8% year-on-year in the quarter,
while sales volumes fell by 0.6% –
suggesting some customers shifted
to cheaper brands.
Unilever, which has been
passing on its higher costs to
consumers, reports that prices
continued to moderate as inflation
eased.
Premier Foods
Premier Foods
acquires FUEL10K
acquires FUEL10K
Premier Foods has broadened its
breakfast segment with the
acquisition of protein-enriched
breakfast brand FUEL10K. The
deal, worth a cash and debt-free
price of £34 million, is expected to
enhance Premier Foods’ earnings
in the first full year following the
acquisition.
This strategic move follows the
successful launch of Ambrosia
porridge pots by Premier Foods
and comes on the heels of its
successful integration of The Spice
Tailor, which led to a significant
revenue boost. FUEL10K had
reported a pre-tax profit of £0.5
million in the last fiscal year.
Greens Retail signs with
Greens Retail signs with
Snappy Shopper
Snappy Shopper
Snappy Shopper announced it
partnership with Scottish retailer,
Greens Retail, to power its new
Home Delivery and Click and
Collect offering.
After Greens Retail had
announced a five-year growth plan
with Nisa, the addition of Snappy
Shopper’s technology support is a
bold statement of intent. In
addition, Greens adding former
Snappy colleague Chris McGregor
to bring a wealth of home delivery
experience to the business in his
role as Head of Online and Digital.
The alliance underlines Snappy
Shopper’s advantages to retailers
in a competitive market.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
17 NOVEMBER 2023 ASIAN TRADER 9
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Fri-Jado important new
sales appointment
Keeping up with the latest industry
moves and promotions
Movers and Shakers
Manchester based Kellanova –
the new name for the company
that owns Kellogg’s – has
appointed Gemma Wisniewski
as its new legal director.
She replaces Carmel Samimi,
who remains with Kellanova
in her new role as general
counsel for Kellanova
AMEA.
Wisniewski brings
with her almost 20
years’ experience
working in FMCG, having
most recently held the role of
legal and corporate affairs
director EMEA & APAC for
Molson Coors. During her time
at the beverage company, she
oversaw divisional legal and
government affairs matters.
Prior to joining Molson
Coors, Wisniewski spent 12
years working for the dairy
giant Müller, where she was
appointed to the role as legal
counsel. She completed her
legal qualifications whilst at
Müller through distant learning
and night school, studying at
Staffordshire University.
As part of her new role
at Kellanova, Wisniews-
ki will lead the legal
team in delivering the
business’ legal strategy
across the UK, Ireland,
Scandinavia, and Eastern
Europe.
“We’re thrilled to have
Gemma join our team as she
steps into the role of legal
director. She brings with her a
wealth of experience and will
continue to support and drive
commercial strategy ,” Chris
Silcock, Kellanova UKI
managing director, said.
Kellanova UKI appoints new
legal director
Following a year of growth,
Fri-Jado – known around the
world for supplying state-of-
the-art hot and cold food
display equipment and
rotisserie ovens – has an-
nounced the expansion of its
UK team with the appoint-
ment of Sanita Rani as UK
Business Develop-
ment Manager. The
appointment
further develops
the existing sales
team as Fri-Jado
seeks to work in
increased collaboration
with both retail and food-to-
go customers nationwide.
In previous roles, Sanita
worked for several leading
customer-centric brands,
including Stella Artois,
Heineken and BMW. Bringing
with her a commitment to
developing engaging custom-
er relationships, as well as
many years’ experience in
identifying customer needs
and relevant solutions, Sanita
is looking forward to meeting
contacts old and new, as well
as working with the team at
Fri-Jado. As UK Business
Development Manager,
Sanita will play a key role
in the business as the
team seeks to further
support the distribu-
tor market, as well
as the chain and
group accounts and
contract catering
opportunities for
Fri-Jado across the whole
country.
“It’s hugely exciting to be
joining the Fri-Jado team,”
said Sanita. “The business has
a longstanding reputation for
not only offering a first-class
product portfolio but also for
exemplary after-sales
support.”
Tesco’s Jason Tarry to step
down after 33-years
After an exceptional career at
Tesco of more than 33 years, in-
cluding six as UK CEO, Jason Tarry
has decided to leave the business in
March 2024.
Jason’s leadership has guided
Tesco through its turnaround and
more recently the pandemic, re-
building its competitiveness in the
UK and putting customers back at
the heart of the business.
Tarry said, “Little could I have
imagined 33 years ago, the journey
I would go on with Tesco. My life in
Tesco has been a wonderful experi-
ence. This decision was not made
easily but this is the right time for
me to move on. I am grateful to
my amazing colleagues and the
lifelong friends I have made here.
I will continue to give my all to
being UK CEO until March, and
my determination that we give our
customers the best Christmas is
heightened knowing that this will
be my last as a Tesco colleague.”
Tesco Group CEO Ken Murphy
said, “Jason has made an immense
contribution to our business.
Under his leadership, Tesco today
is the most competitive we have
ever been, built on exceptionally
strong foundations of doing the
right thing for our customers and
colleagues.
Tarry will be succeeded as UK
CEO by Matthew Barnes, who will
join Tesco on 1 March.
Greens Retail appoints Mike
Leonard interim Head of Retail
Scotland-based retail chain Greens
Retail has announced Mike
Leonard as its new interim Head
of Retail.
Leonard comes to Greens with
a wealth of experience in
the industry, including
his most recent position
as Head of Retail at Eddy’s
Food Station, Sales Direc-
tor at CJ Lang, and Head
of Symbol Retail at United
Wholesale Scotland.
Commenting on his
new role, Leonard said
“I am very excited to be join-
ing Greens Retail in a period of
tremendous growth, with many
exciting opportunities on the hori-
zon. I’m looking forward to work-
ing with suppliers and colleagues
from across the Greens network to
grow the business further.”
Managing Director of Greens
Retail Harris Aslam congratulated
Leonard on his new role in the
business: “I am thrilled to
welcome Mike into the
Greens family. His breadth
of knowledge and experi-
ence in this sector will
give us a huge advantage
as we continue to expand
the Greens portfolio, and
venture into new services
such as home delivery.”
Currently operating 21 stores in
Scotland, Greens Retail has com-
mitted to opening a further 20+
stores spanning across Scotland
and entering the market in Eng-
land next year.
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10 ASIAN TRADER 17 NOVEMBER 2023
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onvenience store owners are
feeling “abandoned” by the
system amid spiking retail crime,
Asian Trader has learnt, while
some even fear that supermarket giants
now partnering with police to use facial
recognition technology might end up
further driving criminals to smaller
independents.
Shoplifting has been THE buzz word for
the better part of this year with unusually
high numbers of organised looting and
blatant crime being reported from across
the country. While several industry reports
and offi cial data suggest a sharp 25 to 35 per
cent spike in retail crime rate, the ground
reality is even worse given the fact that a
major ratio of such cases goes unreported.
Crime has shot up from a couple of
incidents a week to fi ve, six or even more
such incidents a day in a single store.
Criminals have evolved from sneaky to
blatant. Operating alone or in groups, they
are absolutely fearless, and even turn
violent if they are challenged in the act.
In the words of retailer Benedict
Selvaratnam, the owner of the almost
decade-old Freshfi elds Market Convenience
store in Croydon, indie store owners are now
feeling exposed, abandoned and completely
on their own in safeguarding themselves
against fearless (and sometimes even
violent) off enders.
“We have been facing a massive increase
in retail crime recently, since the last 12
months specifi cally. Earlier, we used
to have three to fi ve incidences max
a week but now we are facing
somewhere between three to 10
such cases a day.
“We’re based in the town centre
in Croydon and criminal gangs here
use several techniques to steal. They
are very professional – one of them
will distract the cashiers or the fl oor
staff , while the other person with a
bag will be empty the shelves –
whether it is coff ee, meat items,
alcohol or chocolates boxes.”
Be it organised criminal gangs or
‘It is time that voices of indie retailers get heard
‘It is time that voices of indie retailers get heard
so that both the government and public know
what they are going through.’
what they are going through.’
By Pooja Shrivastava
people with drug issues, they simply don’t
care and have no fear of the law, he said.
Ironically enough, at the time of this
conversation with Asian Trader, Selvarat-
nam had already tackled two crime inci-
dents in his store, and it was not even lunch
time. One was a repeat, banned off ender
who nevertheless entered while masked up
in another attempt, while another man was
caught and tackled as he was trying to steal
some bottles of wine.
In both cases, Selvaratnam didn’t bother
to call the police as the “response has not
been great” in the past.
“Whenever we have called them, they
always delay in sending someone. Mostly,
70 to 80 per cent of the time, no one turns
up. So, we have stopped calling the police
and we just try to manage things ourselves.
Obviously, if there has been violence, then
we do call them. But otherwise, we don’t
bother.”
Left alone and unsupported, Selvarat-
nam is forced to take measures to save his
business. He now employs extra staff , some
just to keep an eye on the shop fl oor, he says.
“We don’t need that many staff but since
we are in the middle of this shoplifting
epidemic and since we are also left alone to
safeguard ourselves, we are forced to hire
extra staff from our own pocket. However,
not everyone can aff ord that.
“We are a younger team so thankfully, we
are still able to deal with this. But I am aware
that there are so many smaller retailers who
just can’t aff ord extra staff while some
others are getting closer to the age of
retirement, and they are not in a position to
physically protect their stores,” pointed out
Selvaratnam.
The environment, the daily struggle with
criminals, the constant tension and stress
are now taking a toll on the mental health of
store owners as well as of their staff .
“We already work for 12-14 hours a day.
It’s so painful that someone can just walk in
and take what they want and leave,” he said.
“It’s tough on me; it’s tough for the
mental health for the team. I have also had a
couple of female staff resign earlier this year
as they were too shaken after some people
jumped over the counter.”
Selvaratnam’s Croydon store has CCTV
cameras in place though he feels they are
not of much use.
“We already have 14 cameras but it’s just
deterrence. It doesn’t actually stop people
from shoplifting.”
If the situation is not tackled as a priority,
it will become tougher to fi nd people to
work in retail, particularly in indie
stores, he warned.
Since the government and police
are not doing enough, people who are
committing crimes are not afraid and
continue to roam freely because they
know there are no consequences. The
repeat off enders, who are banned from
the store, don’t hesitate in trespassing
and steal again.
“It almost feels like shoplifting has
been decriminalized. Police just give a
crime reference number; it’s almost
like an insurance job. For under the
value of £200, they don’t even visit the
Feeling ‘abandoned’
and vulnerable