Press Releases

The Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) has commended the Tasmanian Government for recognising the threat to small businesses that raising the legal tobacco purchasing age would have, as well as the boost it would give to criminals supplying the black market trade of illegal tobacco. A Bill proposing to raise the legal age from which adults could buy legal tobacco in Tasmania to 21 was withdrawn today after the Tasmanian Government indicated it would not support it. It’s the second time such a proposal has been floated and subsequently withdrawn. The AACS had previously reinforced the enormity of the illegal cigarette trade in Australia and warned the proposed Bill would only exacerbate the problem. “This is a common sense outcome. In addition to the freedom of choice implications for adult consumers, raising the age from which Tasmanians can purchase legal tobacco would cost jobs in the convenience industry and…

A coalition of Australia’s largest retailers has today renewed calls for greater enforcement against illegal tobacco, after a new report showed illicit trade represented more than 14 per cent of the total tobacco market. The new report, authored by KPMG LLP, showed that in the last year 2.1 million kg of tobacco was purchased illegally in Australia. The Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS), the Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association (ALNA), the Australian Retailers’ Association (ARA), Master Grocers Australia (MGA) and Ritchies Stores have come together to highlight the urgent need for state and federal law enforcement agencies to focus on how to crack down on illicit tobacco at the retail level. The report comes after eight people were detained and deported for bringing in 177,063 undeclared cigarettes at Melbourne Airport. A raid weeks later in Sydney uncovered an organised crime syndicate that allegedly imported more than $9 million of…

Competition for the “convenience” shopper is at an all-time high. Convenience store operators must ensure they are mastering category management to understand the needs of consumers and meet those needs consistently across every product category in the store. “The practice of category management has changed and will continue to change, mainly driven by the increased awareness and education of consumers. They are surrounded by a wealth of information at their fingertips that is changing their perception of what they choose to consume and purchase,” said Kristen Thaler, category development manager for convenience distributor McLane Co. Inc. “The industry [needs] to move to a more collaborative approach to ensure that strategies are aligned to fulfill the needs of the ever-changing consumer.” Category management of the past has been more of a calendar-based event vs. a perpetual, always-on responding to customer trends and need changes. C-store retailers have to rethink their approach…

Retail technology is becoming a bigger priority than ever before, as evidenced by the record number of attendees at the 2019 Conexxus Annual Conference. The 200-plus convenience store industry members at this year’s event have a full plate when it comes to innovation. Kwik Chek Food Stores is just one of them. Kevin Smartt, CEO of the Texas-based chain and chairman of the Conexxus board of directors, told conference attendees that his company’s innovation pipeline is full and runs the gamut from loyalty programs, to mobile app food ordering, to the testing of self-checkout and mobile checkout, to deep data and consumer analytics, to blockchain. Regardless of what is on the “to-do” list, though, it all comes down to putting systems in place that are critical to the c-store consumer, Smartt explained during the event’s opening session. “We sell a lot of stuff, but we really need to understand our…