4 minute read
COVID-19 UPDATE
NEWS SPECIAL
NFRN PAYS OUT £125K TO MEMBERS IN NEED
THE NFRN HAS NOW PAID OUT NEARLY £125,000 TO CASH-STRAPPED MEMBERS FROM ITS COVID-19 HARDSHIP FUND.
Created last April, the Hardship Fund helps alleviate some of the financial pressures that independent retailers are facing due to the coronavirus pandemic. It offers financial assistance in the form of a grant to members suffering cash flow and other financial challenges.
NFRN National President Stuart Reddish said: “Covid-19 has impacted the livelihoods and businesses of independent retailers across the UK and Ireland, and the NFRN will continue to help members that are in dire need of financial assistance.
“While some members have seen a dramatic increase in their sales and profits during the coronavirus pandemic, others have had their footfall completely decimated due to their location or personal circumstances. I would like to thank our districts, branches and retail partners for their generous donations, which have enabled us to help 101 members and pay out £124,650 so far.
“If your store has to close or is struggling to survive due to Covid-19, apply for a grant today via the NFRN’s website, TheFedOnline.”
ONS: LOCAL RETAILERS ‘HAVE HIGHER COVID RISK’
THE LATEST ONS STATS SHOW THAT KEY WORKERS INCLUDING LOCALRETAILERS ARE AT A HIGHER RISK OF CONTRACTING COVID-19.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released new data showing that key workers, including local retailers, have a higher risk of contracting Covid-19. The findings have led shopworkers trade union Usdaw to redouble its demand that retailers should be prioritised for vaccines, testing and risk assessments.
The new statistics outline Covid death rates by occupation and show clearly that many key workers are at a higher risk than those in other occupations.
Paddy Lillis, Usdaw General Secretary says: “The new ONS statistics demonstrate that many key workers, who are providing essential services during the pandemic, have an elevated Covid-19 related death rate. It is clear that close proximity to the public and other workers, as well as an indoor working environment are factors.
“This is worrying for our members in the essential food industry so we are working with employers to revisit risk assessments and ensure that all safety precautions are adhered to. The Government must prioritise vulnerable occupations in the second phase of the vaccine rollout, reflecting the risks they face. They have worked throughout the pandemic to keep the country supplied with essentials and these key workers must be valued, respected and protected.”
LIDL HANDS OUT £200 ‘THANK YOU’ TO STAFF
Lidl is to hand all UK frontline staff a £200 payment to say thank you for their work and commitment during the coronavirus pandemic. Staff receiving the payment include customer assistants, warehouse staff and cleaning staff. Office staff will receive a £100 bonus.
The payout is expected to cost the discounter around £5.5m and benefit 25,000 staff.
GET YOUR BILLS PAID BY WALKERS!
Following last year’s YAYcation campaign, Walkers has once again teamed up with Bestway for a competition that will see one lucky retailer’s utility bills paid for a year.
The competition runs until 25 March 2021. Retailers can enter as many times as the like by purchasing any qualifying case of Walkers crisps from Bestway either in-depot or online.
One winner will receive £8,970.55 cash to put towards their utility bills. Three runners-up will receive £1,495.09 each and 10 retailers will receive x 1 case of each Promotional Product.
SMART FRIDGES AND ROBOTS TO BECOME ‘THE NORM’
Robot shelf-stackers and smart fridges will be the norm in supermarkets by 2030 and checkouts will have gone by then too, according to a large minority of shoppers who took part in a new study by software consultancy ThoughtWorks. Some 13% of respondents believe there will be no human staff in stores at all by 2030. A quarter believed the size of the average supermarket would likely grow – selling a range of additional items beyond food, although 19% believed the opposite: supermarkets would only exist online, or that food would come direct from the food producer and bypass retailers.
GIFT CARDS GROW
New research by the Gift Card& Voucher Association hasfound that demand for giftcards has grown significantlyunder lockdown. One in fourBrits (25.2%) purchased giftcards for others in Decemberwith over a third of these(34.1%) directly highlightinglockdown restrictions as theirreason for doing so.
‘BE KIND’ PLEA
Central England Co-op haslaunched a campaign urgingshoppers to ‘be kind’ toshop colleagues after newstatistics showed a rise inshocking incidents includingknife attacks, verbal abuse,criminal damage, and staffbeing hospitalised. The retailerrevealed that 312 crimesrelated directly to the Covid-19pandemic have been recordedin stores since the start of thepandemic.
FARE PLAY
Bristol firm Stix Drinks, whichsupplies NHS hospitals andthe government with immunityboostingvitamin drinks, haspledged to give 10p of every£1 spent on Stix for free schoolmeals to Fare Share.
