http://www.asiantrader.biz 12 MAY 2017 ASIAN TRADER 5NEWSFollow us on: http://www.twitter.com/AsianTrader Like us on: http://www.facebook.com/AsianTraderTHE 2017 ACS Summit unveiled
a number of innovative ide-
as, say retailers that attended
the event held at the NEC last
month.
Leading retailer Raj Chan-
darana of Premier Tara’s News
& Post Office returned to High
Wycombe “extra motivated” by
what he had heard.
“I really enjoyed the ACS
Summit this year,” Chandarana.
“It was very motivational, a real
morale boost.”
“The highlight was the
‘Idea’s Wall’, where I learned
a lot of new and innovative
ways of looking at categories
in my shop. There were people
from all over the world - Amer-
ica, Australia, Ireland - and they
bought over some fantastic ide-
as.”
Asked what he would be tak-
ing back to his store, Chandara-
na replied: “There are categoriesin every shop that can be dull or
boring, and stock just sits there.
The easy option is to let it stay as
it is and say to yourself ‘oh well
it’s one of those categories’. But
now I feel energised to change
these areas with some fresh ide-
as, and it’s great timing as I have
a refit coming up soon.”Technology
There was also plenty of talk on
technology and how conveni-
ence stores had to ‘go digital’ to
be one step ahead of the super-
markets.
Jai Singh of MJ Local in Shef-
field emphasised the impor-tance of social media, not just
for the future, but right now.
“In my community I’m only
a hashtag or one tweet away
from a new customer - we’ve
never had that kind of direct
reach before.”
Singh was lauded by other re-
tailers for doing things on social
media that are “three or four years
ahead” of many of the retailing
community, such as his ‘Snapchat
promotion of the week’.
Singh added: “My advice to
other retailers with social me-
dia is to always be upbeat and
positive on whatever feed you
use.”Retailers get a glimpse
into the future of shops
ACS Summit unveils plethora of innovative ideas
SWA reiterates
opposition to DRS
The Scottish Wholesale
Association (SWA) has reiterated
its opposition to the Scottish
Government’s proposed deposit
return scheme (DRS) for plastic
bottles and drinks cans, claiming
that current proposals are
“impractical” and would be costly
for consumers, businesses and
local councils.
SWA insists that enhancements
to the current kerbside collections
system that has served Scotland
well for many years are the way
forward. It supports the Scottish
Government’s Household Recycling
Charter and increased investment
in kerbside recycling, and warns
that a DRS would mean people
having to walk past their council
kerbside recycling bins to return
plastic bottles to shops.MP warns of second
credit crunch
Sir Vince Cable has predicted a
second economic storm driven by
Brexit. The former Business
Secretary says that a combination
of declining consumer confidence,
job losses and inflation has the
potential to outstrip the economic
storm of the previous decade.
Cable was credited by some for
warning about the crash.
Sir Vince Cable said: “For Britain,
the economic weather is arguably
worse than it was before the credit
crunch. The pound has plummeted,
which is driving up prices and
trapping consumers in a vicious
Brexit squeeze.”Hate crime on the increase
Government data unveiled
recently shows there was a 20%
rise in instances of hate crime last
year.
This amounts to over 60,
offences. Some circles are blaming
Brexit and the likes of UKIP’s stance
on immigration for making the UK a
hostile place for those from
overseas.
Retailer Abdil Akeem from Heald
Green, Manchester said: “I hope
every party and every politician
thinks before they speak and
considers carefully the harm that
inappropriate language can have.”According to a Women in
Wholesale (WiW) report, a
lack of flexible working
options was voted the
biggest challenge for 52% of
women.
The report, built on
research from HIM, also
showed that a clear career
path (43%) and respect (38%)
were also challenging for
women working in the
sector.
The report entitled ‘Six
Steps To Nurture, Grow and
Advance Talent in Whole-
sale’ has been launched this
week to provide businesses
with a resource to support
gender diversity.
Founder and Organiser of
WiW, Elit Rowland, said: “At
our inaugural conference
last year, 100% of delegates
said that they’d like some-thing actionable to take
away. Today we are making
that available, free of charge,
together with some
ground-breaking research.”
Managing Director of
Research Consultancy HIM,
Jill Livesey, said: “95% of the
people we interviewed said
that gender diversity leads to
better business but almost a
quarter (24%) said that more
could be done to create a
gender inclusive culture.
And 81% of interviewees said
that gender diversity is a
larger issue in wholesale
than in other grocery and
retail industries.”
Joanne Denney-Finch,
IGD Chief Executive,
commented: “It is well
recognised that businesses
with a diverse board of
directors and seniormanagers have greater
success because they can
draw upon and blend the
different skills, knowledge
and experience that each
person brings.
“To achieve diversity at
the top, food and grocery
companies need a large
pool of talented women to
select for senior roles. It is
essential to understand
that women’s develop-
ment needs are different
and alternative mentoring
and encouragement is
often required. Being
flexible is also important,
offering a good balance
between work and home
life has always ensured I’m
able to attract talented
women to IGD.”Women in Wholesale worry
over lack of flexibility
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