May 6, 2016, Progressive Grocer New York City’s new bag fee law will cover both paper and plastic New York’s City Council has approved a bill requiring most retailers to charge customers at least five cents per platic or paper bags, according to published reports. Mayor Bill de Blasio has expressed his intention of signing the bill, which goes into effect Oct. 1. De Blasio aims to send zero waste to landfills by 2030. The law covers plastic and paper bags used by retailers, with the fee to be collected by the store, rather than by the city government. Among the exceptions to the law are restaurant takeout orders and purchases made with food stamps. The city’s former mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, proposed a plastic bag fee in back 2008, but the council wasn’t receptive to the idea at that time. According to the Sanitation Department, New York City lays…

Macquarie Securities Coca-Cola Amatil (CCL) noted the announcement made on the weekend by the New South Wales (“NSW”) Government regarding a proposed container deposit scheme. The NSW Government has indicated its preference to introduce a traditional 10 cent refund container deposit scheme (“CDS”). The CDS will have a single scheme coordinator which will be determined through an expression of interest process. Furthermore, an implementation group will be established to advise the NSW Environment Minister on starting up the scheme and a Standing Committee will be established to provide ongoing advice regarding the scheme. Further details on the governance and operating model of the scheme have not been finalised by government. It is expected that once the details have been finalised, the proposed draft legislation and regulations will be released publicly ahead of its introduction into the NSW Parliament around August 2016. The NSW Government is targeting July 2017 for the…

Sue Mitchell May 12, 2016 The Age After agreeing two years ago to stop subsidising petrol discounts through supermarket profits, Coles now appears to be subsidising food and grocery discounts by charging higher prices at the pump. Industry sources believe Coles has been charging a premium for petrol for at least six months to fund investment in lower grocery prices and protect margins in its food, liquor and convenience division amid increasingly aggressive industry discounting. In a recent report, Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Simotas said Australian Institute of Petrol data suggested retail fuel prices had fallen 7 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the March quarter, but Coles’ sales implied that its prices had fallen only 2.6 per cent. An industry-wide shift to premium fuels and stronger sales in Coles Express convenience stores accounted for some of the gap, Mr Simotas said. “But the gap increased in size in…

Tammy Mastroberte May 10, 2016 Convenience Store News New types of on-demand providers continue to emerge. NATIONAL REPORT — With on-demand car service from Uber, on-demand food delivery from companies like DoorDash and Postmates, and even Amazon Prime Now which delivers products in one hour, the concept of on-demand fuel delivery is not as far-fetched as it might have seemed a couple of years ago. “There is definitely a rise in the on-demand economy, and the sector is growing very fast,” Bruno Uzzan, co-founder and CEO of Purple, an on-demand gas delivery company in California, told Convenience Store News. “Over the past two years, technology improved and we can locate the exact location of where someone is. Plus, most people are trained to want to save time. With our service, we can save someone 10 to 15 minutes by not having to go to a gas station.” As of today,…

Sue Mitchell May 12, 2016 – 5:25PM The Age The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is watching petrol prices at Coles Express amid claims the retailer is subsidising grocery discounts by charging higher prices at the pump. Chairman Rod Sims said the ACCC was looking at reports that Coles Express fuel prices were 2¢ to 3¢ a litre higher than average market prices and the extra profit margin was being used to bolster earnings in Coles’ food, liquor and convenience store business as the retailer reduced grocery prices. “We do keep a close eye on these things,” Mr Sims told Fairfax Media on Thursday. “There’s some sense that rather than reducing petrol prices they are, if anything, doing the reverse at the moment. What we’re seeing rather anecdotally is consistent with the Deutsche Bank report. But it’s too early to tell.” In a recent report, Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Simotas…