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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

Anti-crime Project Pegasus

steers into headwinds

Festive Tobacco

Festive Snacks

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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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4 ASIAN TRADER 17 NOVEMBER 2023

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

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

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

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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6 ASIAN TRADER 17 NOVEMBER 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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8 ASIAN TRADER 17 NOVEMBER 2023

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

shoppers remain shy

Higher prices boost

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

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

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.

NEWS FEATURE

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10 ASIAN TRADER 17 NOVEMBER 2023

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

so that both the government and public know

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