So Who Are Your Customers?
2011 Census Data Now Available When we are talking to shopkeepers, two of the RSA’s constant themes are that they need to know their customers and that they need good information in order to manage...
View ArticleThe National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme
Scores on the Doors This is a national scheme that rates the food hygiene levels in shops and other businesses that sell unwrapped and loose food. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) runs it jointly with...
View ArticleControlling Energy Bills
“I was very inexperienced when I opened my store,” admits Heather Holmes of Tillington Village Stores in Herefordshire, who forked out on a long wall of open-deck refrigeration to display fresh...
View ArticleHow to Write a Press Release
Free Publicity For most rural shops, paid-for advertising is expensive and does not deliver worthwhile results. However, local papers and radio stations are always looking for interesting stories to...
View ArticleSymbol Group Membership – The Pros & Cons
Retailers often bemoan the perceived competitive advantages enjoyed by the big supermarket chains. Membership of a symbol group is one important way that an independent retailer can access many of the...
View ArticleGrowth Outside The Supermarkets
This article is much abridged from the City Food Lecture delivered by Charles Wilson, Chief Executive of Bookers. We are very grateful for his permission to reproduce his work. The first self-service...
View ArticleThe British Greetings Card Market
Cards For All Occasions The British are a nation of card buyers, sending more cards than any other country in the world. The current UK Greetings Card market is worth in excess of £1.5 billion a year....
View ArticleBusiness, Innovation and Skills Committee – 2013
Rural Shops Alliance submission to the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee enquiry into the UK Retail Sector. Introduction The Rural Shops Alliance is a trade Association representing the views...
View ArticleLATEST EVIDENCE FROM AUSTRALIA SHOWS STANDARDISED TOBACCO PACKAGING HAS NO...
PRESS RELEASE: From the Rural Shops Alliance IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 21st July 2014 LATEST EVIDENCE FROM AUSTRALIA SHOWS STANDARDISED TOBACCO PACKAGING HAS NO IMPACT ON SMOKING RATES The RSA has...
View ArticleTO THOSE WHO HAVE, MORE SHALL BE GIVEN
PRESS RELEASE From the Rural Shops Alliance IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 21 August 2014 “TO THOSE WHO HAVE, MORE SHALL BE GIVEN” The RSA’s view on upgraded broadband The Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
View ArticleThe Customer in 2014
For years and years, it seemed that the world was fairly predictable. The big supermarket chains piled on market share by building more and more large stores. Customers bought into this model with...
View ArticleNational Minimum Wage Increase Comes Into Force Today
Press Release: The Association of Convenience Stores on 1/10/2014 The National Minimum Wage will rise from £6.31 to £6.50 today (October 1st) for employees over the age of 21 (an increase of 3%). In...
View ArticleHigh Streets To Battle It Out To Be Named Top Of The Shops
Press Release: Department for Communities and Local Government on 3/10/2014 Towns and villages around Britain are set to battle it out after making it onto the shortlist for the Great British High...
View ArticleThe National Minimum Wage – RSA Submission to LPC
SUBMISSION TO THE LOW PAY COMMISSION ON THE FUTURE LEVEL OF THE NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE 1. INTRODUCTION The Rural Shops Alliance is a national trade association representing the views of about 7,500...
View ArticleForum Research Suggests Business Costs Rising 3.1 per cent Ahead of Inflation
Press Release: Forum of Private Business on 6/10/2014 Despite the continued fall in inflation over the past year, small business costs have continued to rise during 2014, with energy costs still the...
View ArticleTobacco Display Ban: Six Months to Go
Press Release: The Association of Convenience Stores on 6/10/2014 Today (October 6th) marks six months until the implementation of the tobacco display ban in convenience stores. ACS has produced...
View ArticleMental Health Still Area of Silence in Workplace
Press Release: Business in the Community on 7/10/2014 A new survey carried out on behalf of Friends Life has found that four in ten employed people have experienced a common mental health problem over...
View ArticleWellington Village Shop: A 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle
When the good people of Wellington in rural Herefordshire were asked to give their Parish Council permission to borrow £250,000 to build a village shop, their resounding ‘yes’ was down to the...
View ArticleA Beacon to the Future?
The type of beacon we are talking about is a very small electronic device. They sit next to a specific product in-store. When a customer with a smartphone approaches the fixture, the beacon senses...
View ArticleLLOYDS BANK BRANCH CLOSURES HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RURAL POST OFFICE...
PRESS RELEASE From the Rural Shops Alliance IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 29th October 2014 LLOYDS BANK BRANCH CLOSURES HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RURAL POST OFFICE NETWORK The recent announcement by Lloyds...
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