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THIS WEEK'S NEWS
GREG’S FILLED ROLE
FORMER NFRN COO GREG DEACON HAS JOINED ALL-IN-ONESHOPPING APP JISP AS CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER.
Greg Deacon, who stepped down from his post as the NFRN’s Chief Operating Officer in December, has been named as the new Chief Customer Officer for all-in-one shopping app Jisp.
Effective from next month, Deacon will manage customer relationships and focus on Jisp customers as a wider business strategy. Prior to the NFRN, he had senior roles at Camelot and News UK looking after field sales and retail trade marketing strategies.
He said: “I’m absolutely delighted to join Jisp to help cement our leading app proposition as the bestin-class mobile marketing, shopping and payment solutions for UK retail and further afield. I look forward to working with existing and new business partners, retailers and independent small business owners to develop our solutions we offer to the benefit of all.”
WORKER PROTECTION BILL CLEARS FINAL HURDLE
DANIEL JOHNSON’S PROTECTION OF WORKERSBILL WAS FORMALLY PASSED YESTERDAYAND WILL BECOME LAW LATER IN THE YEAR,OFFERING GREATLY IMPROVED PROTECTION OFRETAIL WORKERS IN SCOTLAND.
Daniel Johnson MSP’s Protection of Workers Bill was formally voted through the Scottish Parliament at Stage 3 yesterday evening, clearing the way for the Bill to become law in Scotland later this year.
The Bill will now be submitted for Royal Assent in the coming weeks and is expected to be enacted around six months later. This will create a new statutory offence of assaulting, threatening or abusing a retail worker.
It will also provide further legal protections when the worker is carrying out their statutory duties such as age-restricted sales.
Johnson said: “I am absolutely delighted to see my Bill pass all the legislative hurdles to become law and give retail workers the proper protection they need.”
Read The Week In Retail’s exclusive interview with Johnson yesterday on page 10.
ALDI HANDS OUT PAY RISE
Aldi has recognised the contribution of its store colleagues by giving them a New Year’s pay rise and increasing its minimum hourly rates from 1 February.
All of Aldi’s 30,000 Store Assistant colleagues will benefit from the pay rise, with the discounter paying a minimum hourly rate of £9.55, up from £9.40.
The new rates of pay are also boosted by the fact Aldi is still one of the only UK supermarkets to pay for breaks taken during shifts, which means Aldi colleagues remain the best-paid in the sector, according to the company. When paid breaks are included, Aldi’s minimum hourly pay rate for store colleagues, based on an average six-hour shift, will be £10.11.
The pay rise follows bonuses that were awarded to store colleagues in April and December 2020, in recognition of their efforts throughout the pandemic.
NISA ADDS 620 STORES
Nisa has announced it recruited more than 620 stores in the last 12 months, a significant uplift on the previous year. The launch of the new sub 1,000sq ft Nisa Express format in October helped take the year’s forecourt tally to over 60.
Despite the many challenges the pandemic caused for the industry, 2020 also saw 131 Nisa stores converted to the latest Evolution format as retailers continued to invest in their stores.
Several multi-site key accounts were also recruited including Ascona Group, Touts and the Highland Group. A number also continued to grow their estate since joining Nisa, including Amacor and PGNJ.
Steve Leach, Sales Director at Nisa, said: “2020 was a record year for store recruitment at Nisa, which is testament to the strength of Nisa’s offer and that of the recruitment team, who have adapted brilliantly to embrace a primarily virtual recruitment method under such difficult circumstances this year.”
SLR AWARD
Scottish Local Retailer has been awarded a GroceryAid Bronze Award in recognition of its support for the industry charity throughout 2020. Bronze Award winners have participated in four activities across two of GroceryAid’s critical pillars: awareness, fundraising and volunteering. SLR Publishing Director Antony Begley sits on the GroceryAid Scotland Committee and the National GroceryAid Independent Retailing Strategy Group.
NEW BOOKER SITE
Booker Wholesale launched a new website yesterday, designed to be mobile friendly and with a cleaner, fresher look and feel than before. It also benefits from a simplified branch finder and more straightforward checkout process.
SPAR ON TV
Spar Scotland is back on STV for two weeks. The new TV ads will focus on the everyday value offered in stores. Spar Scotland will support the advertising campaign via social media, in-store radio and instore POS.
SWA GROWS
The Scottish Wholesale Association has bolstered its numbers after a lockdown recruitment drive that saw nearly 30 wholesalers join the trade group. Many wholesalers chose to sign up to the SWA as a direct result of the coronavirus crisis as they sought advice on regulations and assistance with grant applications.
CO-UP UP 9.2%
Central England Co-op has revealed that its Christmas like-for-like food sales were up 9.2%, with New Year’s Eve seeing the biggest jump in food sales (11%) followed by Christmas Eve (4.7%) and New Year’s Day (3.7%). Overall, combined like-for-like sales (including fuel) were up 5.2%.
MFG ADDS 16
Motor Fuel Group will purchase seven operational stations and nine new-to-industry sites from BP as part of a wider agreement including fuel supply for 100 sites. Six of the operating stations are in Scotland with one in Surrey. The new sites are spread across Scotland and England.
