August 10, 2012 The Age AUSTRALIANS have banking economists stumped. They thought they knew what we would do when in 2009 the Reserve Bank outlawed largely hidden payments between financial institutions that were usually passed on to us as account-keeping fees whenever we used a so-called ”foreign” teller machine owned by another bank. They thought we would do nothing. In place of the indirect fees were direct fees in which the owner of each foreign ATM took the money directly from our accounts each time we made a foreign withdrawal. But the size of the charge, typically two dollars, didn’t change. All of the economic models – including the Reserve Bank’s own model – suggested we would use ATMs pretty much as we had before. The incentives were much as they had been. Instead withdrawals from foreign machines dived from around half of all ATM withdrawals to just 40 per…

NACSonline August 9 2012 The winner will be announced at the Insight/NACS Future of International Convenience Retailing 2012 in late September. LONDON – The finalists for the 2012 Insight NACS International Convenience Retailer of the Year Award have been unveiled, with six convenience retailers and forecourt operators from around the world vying for the title. The U.K.-based award, sponsored by Imperial Tobacco, is now in its fourth year. The six finalists hail from Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, the United States and the United Kingdom, highlighting the international reach of convenience retailing and advanced concepts. Each of the six finalists has differentiated their convenience offerings, and innovations abound across the key entry criteria of format innovation, range, people development, customer service initiatives, corporate social responsibility, technology and results. Here are the six finalists; to cast your vote, click on the link: BP Connect, New Zealand Musgrave Centra, Rochestown, Ireland Spar Ireland,…

Sophie Foster August 09, 2012 The Courier-Mail “CAUTIOUSLY optimistic” was how one Brisbane newsagent greeted a long-awaited plan that’s set to transform the future of the newspaper distribution and retail industry nationwide. The T2020: Newsagents for the Future distribution model will be made public by News Ltd, publisher of The Courier-Mail, today , but rolled out first at a launch region south of Brisbane over the next six months. “The upside has got to be instantly better than where we’re at right now,” said Grahame Bunyon, of Palmdale News in Upper Mount Gravatt, who’s among 56 Brisbane newsagents forming the vanguard for implementation of T2020. “There’s bound to be a call for newspapers for years to come.” In a statement to newsagents nationwide, News Ltd executive commercial and operations director Jerry Harris said the company remained committed to all forms of media, including print, with newsagents a fundamental part of…

Aug 07, 2012 CSNews CLAYSBURG, Pa. — Sheetz continues to march forward with its expansion by opening its 426th convenience store in Claysburg, Pa. A grand opening event and ribbon-cutting will be held at 7:45 a.m. this Thursday, Aug. 9, at the new store, located near Old Route 220 and Sheetz Way, reports the Altoona Mirror. The store has 30 indoor seats and five tables outside with 20 seats and has been termed a “convenience restaurant” like all of the Altoona, Pa.-based company’s new stores and rebuilds, said Steve Augustine, Sheetz director of real estate. It does not have a drive-thru, but it does have a car wash and commercial diesel fueling area. The 6,500-square-foot location will have 40 to 45 full- and part-time jobs and add $3.5 million taxable property value to the local and county tax base, added company officials. It is located near the Sheetz Distribution Center…

Aug 07, 2012 CSNews MONSEY, N.Y. — A 7-Eleven franchise location in Monsey, N.Y., became the first convenience store in the country to offer a kosher hot dog. According to Newsday, the c-store added a second roller grill that was blessed by local Rabbi Zushe Blech. “The response has been overwhelming,” Anthony Mendicino, who has operated the franchise location with his brother for 13 years, told the newspaper. The c-store is located in the heart of Monsey’s Orthodox Jewish community. The new hot dog offering was the result of customers clamoring for the food, the news outlet reported. To prepare the hot dogs, the Mendicinos hired Sam Indig, a trained chef who is also an Orthodox Jew himself. Indig is cooking up seven kosher hot dogs and Polish sausages that are served on buns from a local certified-kosher bakery. The 7-Eleven franchise also offers a special condiment bar with toppings…

Aug 07, 2012 CSNews OTTAWA, Ontario — Graphic cigarette warning labels may be on hold in the United States but cigarette packages in Canada have featured the health warnings since last fall and they may not be having the intended effect, according to a new survey commissioned by Health Canada. According to the National Post, Health Canada commissioned Environics Research Group to do a baseline survey of smokers this past March. The project surveyed 1,505 Canadian adult smokers. The survey found that smokers overwhelmingly recognize smoking is a major problem; however, fewer than half of respondents consider the warning labels effective at changing their overall smoking habit. Specifically, nearly nine in 10 said they have seen, heard or read about the earlier health warning messages. One in three said they look at the warning messages at least once a day. Most smokers participating in the survey said warning messages provide…