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NEWS DIGEST
DRAFT FINANCE BILL SET TO ADD YET MORE CHALLENGES FOR RETAILERS
THE UK GOVERNMENT RECENTLY PUBLISHED DRAFT LEGISLATIONTO BE INCLUDED WITHIN THE FINANCE BILL 2020-21 FEATURINGSEVERAL IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT WILL IMPACT ON THE LOCALRETAILING SECTOR.
The draft legislation to be included in the Finance Bill 2020-21 has been published by the UK Government and includes several important points that would have an impact on the local retailing sector. Q Making Tax Digital (MTD) – a roadmap for MTD has been published alongside long-term plans for tax administration reform. Legislation in the Finance Bill will extend Making Tax Digital for VAT to all businesses below the VAT threshold from April 2022. MTD will be extended to Income Tax Self-Assessment from April 2023.
Alcohol duty system – The UK government will, before the end of September 2020, publish a call for evidence in relation to reform of the alcohol duty system.
Plastic Packaging Tax – the deadline for responses to proposals around a ‘Plastic Packaging Tax’ have been extended to 20 August 2020.
AMAZON TARGETS ‘MILLIONS OF ONLINE GROCERY CUSTOMERS’ IN 2020
AMAZON HAS UNVEILED A NEWGROCERY DELIVERY SERVICEFREE TO PRIME MEMBERS ANDTARGETS SERVICING ‘MILLIONSOF CUSTOMERS’ BY THE ENDOF 2020.
Amazon is moving up a gear in the online grocery battle zone with the launch on Tuesday of free same- or next-day home delivery on orders over £40 for Amazon Prime subscribers in London and parts of the Home Counties. A previous trial in the same geographic area saw Prime members able to access the Amazon Fresh service by paying an additional monthly fee or a delivery charge per order.
Shoppers can choose from around 10,000 products across the fresh, chilled and frozen categories. Around 40 postcodes in Surrey will also have access to a faster offer, with a possible same-day delivery before midnight on orders made by 9pm.
The online giant has also announced that it will roll the service out to “multiple cities” by the end of this year.
NEW ILLICIT TRADE ‘POSTCODE CALCULATOR’
JTI has today announced the launch of a new ‘Postcode Calculator’, a free-touse online tool which enables retailers to find out how badly their local area is being affected by illicit tobacco.
Retailers can enter their postcode area and find out how many seizures and/or prosecutions have taken place near that location since 2017, including estimates of the quantity and total value of illegal tobacco reported.
There is also the option to expand their search to cover the wider area (e.g. from LU Luton to East of England) to view the percentage of non-UK duty paid cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco in their region versus the UK average.
The new interactive feature has been added to JTI’s dedicated Don’t Be Complicit in Illicit microsite which has also benefitted from a content update and fresh new look, and continues to play an important part in JTI’s fight against the illicit trade.
For more information on the new Postcode Calculator, please turn to page 22.
HIM & MCA REBRAND AS LUMINA INTELLIGENCE
HIM and MCA Insight, the research and insight division of William Reed, has relaunched under a new brand, Lumina Intelligence.
The newly renamed business is also launching a new analytics and data visualisation solution that will bring all the company’s data sources under one roof.
The launch of Lumina Intelligence will be supported with a new website (www.lumina-intelligence.com) and social media platforms.
Jill Livesey, MD, said: “Our plan is to inspire the global food and drink industry with deep, actionable insights, powered by the world’s best analytics technology.”
SUN RISES
The cover price on all editions of The Sun and The Sun on Sunday will rise from Saturday1 August. Monday to Friday editions will rise by 5p while weekend editions will increase by 10p. All percentage margins for retailers will be maintained at their current rates.
NEW LIDL APP
Lidl Ireland has launched a new rewards app offering customers guaranteed savings each week and the chance to win instant rewards. The app offers shoppers at least€10 a week in coupons which can be redeemed at the till by scanning their Lidl Pluscards. They’ll also receive a digital scratchcard offering the chance to win prizes everytime they shop.
UNCLE BEN’S RECALL
Mars Food is voluntarily recalling select production batches of Uncle Ben’s Brown Basmati 250g Ready-to-heat rice due to the “possibility of the presence of glass”. Mars is working with retailers to remove product with specific best before codes from 17 Nov2020 to 19 Jul 2021.
SCOTMID PAYPOINT DEAL
Scotmid has announced an extension to its partnership with PayPoint. The deal will see the continuation of PayPoint services across 211stores with a major benefit cited as being PayPoint’s Cash Out service. During the last three months of the pandemic, more than 44,000Cash Out payments have been processed through Scotmid stores, totalling £1.5m.
QUORN PEOPLE PERSON
Quorn Foods has appointed Tongwen Zhao into the role of Director of People & Planet, new position created to accelerate the company’s drive to be a business of the future with an environmental mission at its core. Zhao joins from Unilever.
NEW SGF SITE
Scottish Grocers’ Federation has unveiled a refreshed website featuring easily accessible advice and guidance for members, full details of staff and National Executive members, and information on SGF’s calendar of events.
