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The Voice of Independent Retailers

Wine

Get fancy

Data Cart

Waste not, want not

2nd May to 15th May 2025

Volume 37 No. 963

Nic pouches

Time has come

Star store

Fresh and local

News Feature

On the margins

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On the margins

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The Voice of Independent Retailers

ta Cart

ot, want not

Volume 37 No. 963

Nic pouches

Time has come

Star store

Fresh and local

‘Australia-like’ vape

crimewave inbound

Wines to Stock

Tobacco & RYO

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4 NEWS

Leader: Reality bites

‘Australia-like’ vape crimewave inbound

Allwyn, Snappy Shopper expand to over 170

local retailers

Reynolds: US safety standards still off the

table

Booker sales dip despite growth in retail and

catering

Part-time job costs soar for retailers

‘Packaging symbols remain a mystery for

most people’

Police launch national crackdown on high

street crime

Exonerated Seema Misra collects OBE

Guest column: Balancing the charm of the

spirits bottle against what’s inside it

Guest column: Beyond cars – how low traffic

neighbourhoods can revitalise our high

streets

9 RETAIL CORNER: Fresh,

local, unstoppable

A modern convenience store with a local soul,

this shop has redefined retail by turning hot

food into its strongest asset

10 NEWS FEATURE: Margins:

A tough nut to crack

With costs up and margins on freeze,

independent stores face their toughest test yet,

says Pooja Shrivastava

12 WORLD OF WHOLESALE

A regular round-up of news and views in the

wholesale sector

13 “NOT” TWITTER

The best observations and comments from

retailers (and friends) on the ground

14 MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Keeping up with the latest industry moves

and promotions

15 FEATURE: WINES TO

STOCK

The right wine selection can elevate your

store, increase basket size, and turn everyday

purchases into profitable pours

22 DATA CART

Your at-a-glance guide to the big issues in the

sector

23 MUST STOCK

The latest product news

26 FEATURE: NICOTINE

POUCHES

An explosion in usage ahead of the disposable

vape ban and a proliferation of brands

and flavours means that pouches are now

officially a fabulous category you cannot

afford to ignore

33 FEATURE:

TOBACCO AND RYO

The smoking sector is undergoing secular

change with evolving products and draconian

legislation that ever-more restricts the

legitimate market for combustible products

– but the category, while shrinking, is still

thriving

37 CLASSIFIED

39 GUJARATI

Dairy Alternatives

2nd May to 15th May 2025

THE VOICE OF INDEPENDENT RETAILERS

VOLUME 37 NUMBER 963

NEWS

4 ASIAN TRADER 2 MAY 2025

The National Lottery operator

Allwyn has signiﬁcantly

expanded its partnership with

online home delivery platform

Snappy Shopper, with 172

independent National Lottery

retailers now selling Scratch-

cards online through the

platform.

The pioneering new

initiative has already generat-

ed an impressive £150,000+ in

sales for retailers.

This expansion follows a

highly successful initial

small-scale trial in summer

2024, which demonstrated

strong demand from custom-

ers seeking convenient access

to National Lottery Scratch-

cards.

Since then, retailers have

been continuing to sign up for

the ofer of home deliveries, as

well as being up to date with all

the necessary safeguarding

training on the National

Lottery Retail Training

Centre.

The initiative also aligns

with Allwyn’s wider eforts to

modernise The National

Lottery, and its growth

continues to demonstrate how

the retail channel is central to

the company’s vision to grow

The National Lottery responsi-

bly over the next decade.

Allwyn, Snappy Shopper expand

to over 170 local retailers

Reality bites

ver the past few weeks, reality – which has been

cowering in a corner getting abuse and mud slung

at it for far too long – is making a roaring comeback,

all fangs and claws.

The UK Supreme Court decision upholding the al-

ready-existing law that there are two sexes and not 500

genders will be giving HR departments across the country

sleepless nights as they realise all the policies that will now

have to be unwound, and all the signs on changing rooms

switched back to how they used to be. And many lawyers

whose clients were harassed and ﬁred for simply observing

the much-ignored law of the land will be rubbing their

hands together in anticipation of fat fees and ﬁnancial

settlements.

President Trump is also discovering that the other

fellow has a say in how things go, and can shoot back,

especially when you confront all the other fellows at the

same time with your demands, while acting like Ernest

Hemingway at his drunken and boorish worst. How the

ensuing disruption to world trade and economics will

impact the UK in general and the c-channel speciﬁcally will

soon be discovered, but there is no need for despair – solu-

tions are like water and always ﬁnd a way. Indeed, there

were certainly many downsides to the recently deceased

globalism that has held us in its thrall for the past four

decades. Our slogan after all is “live locally”, and it looks as

if we’ll certainly be having a lot more opportunity to do

that.

The government, too, found itself being savaged by

reality, and was forced to re-open Scunthorpe steelworks,

in order that the UK can at least make something. The

Chinese owners – globalism, again – had wanted to close

down the plant so the CCP could completely corner the

market in another vital strategic area, but Starmer and Co.

were ﬁnally made to see that perhaps it is not wise to be

dependent on the tender mercies of foreign dictators – who

knew?

The scales only dropped from government eyes (and not

just Labour eyes – this has been a decades-long cross-party

process) after they realised that Uncle Sam could no longer

be depended on to tuck the democracies in at night, so that

at least is something MAGA and Trump might be thanked

for over the long term.

Everything, all the old certainties, have suddenly been

thrown up in the air, and the old world has indeed ended;

we await to see what the new one might be like – and there

is certainly cause for optimism. Perhaps, though, not for

the Great Dictators, Putin and Xi. Putin faces bankruptcy

as the global slump kills the oil price he depends on for his

war, leaving him ultimately at the mercy of his serfs – and

the same goes for Xi, whose slave-workers will now be

mostly unemployed and angry. They both might soon be

dangling upside-down from lamp-posts as their people give

them a taste of reality sandwich, too. Oh, brave new world,

that has such people in it!

The inadequate number of new

recruits hired to enforce the

disposable vapes ban along with

insufcient funding and lack of

awareness will lead to a “new

era of criminal enterprise” in

the UK, MPs and campaigners

have warned, citing crime levels

seen in Australia.

Only 80 apprentice Trading

Standards ofcers have been

employed while £10m has

been allocated to police a

booming black-market

economy, far less that what

was demanded by convenience

store owners.

Last year, ACS had called on

the Government to provide

Trading Standards in England

with an additional “£140m

over the next ﬁve years” to fund

400 enforcement ofcers.

Since 2020, three illegal

vapes have been seized every

minute, says ACS. By 2023, the

number of illegal devices

seized by Trading Standards

increased 19-fold, with 4.18

million illegal vapes seized dur-

ing the last three years.

Latest National Trading

Standards ﬁgures from

November reveal authorities

conﬁscated 1.2 million illegal

vapes in 2023-2024, marking a

59% increase from the

previous year.

Conservative MP and

member of the all-party

parliamentary group for

responsible vaping Jack

Rankin said, “Underworld

operators will move quickly to

usher in a new era of criminal

enterprise in vaping products.”

“This always ends in

violence, and in Australia we

have seen ﬁrebomb attacks by

gangs on retail businesses that

have refused to sell their

black-market products.”

UK unprepared for gang rule after disposables ban

‘Australia-like’ vape

crimewave inbound

NEWS

2 MAY 2025 ASIAN TRADER 5

Tesco reported a fall in

like-for-like sales of 1.8% at

its wholesale arm Booker,

weighed down by an 8.8%

slump in the tobacco market

and 5.1% weaker demand in

parts of the fast-food sector,

served by Booker’s Best

Food Logistics.

Despite this overall

decline, Booker saw growth

in its core segments. Core

retail LFL sales rose by 0.9%,

while core catering posted a

stronger 2.1% increase,

supported by price-lock

campaigns and improving

availability.

Whilst the independent

convenience sector is seeing

some trading softness,

Booker said its symbol

brands performed strongly.

Booker retail customer

satisfaction continued to im-

prove, with gains year-on-

year, and catering sales were

boosted by the integration of

Venus Wine and Spirit

Merchants, acquired in

June 2024, which expand-

ed its ofering to the

on-trade sector.

Tesco Group’s overall

performance remained

strong, with adjusted

operating proﬁt rising

10.9% to £3.13 billion and

group sales increasing by

4% to £63.64 billion. Proﬁt

after tax increased 37% to

£1.6 billion.

CEO Ken Murphy said

Tesco had achieved its

highest market share in

nearly a decade, driven by

innovation and investment

in quality.

Booker sales dip despite

growth in retail and catering

Balancing the charm of

the spirits bottle against

what’s inside it

Nick Gillett is

Co-founder and

Managing

Director of

successful

spirits

distributor

Mangrove Global, as well as

an industry expert and

commentator. In his column

for this issue, Nick ponders

the wisdom of judging a

‘book’ by its cover

When it comes to building a spirits

range – how do you prioritise the

look of a product versus the taste?

Do you choose to stock a product

because it looks good? After all, the

customer won’t taste it until after

purchase. The answer is a lovely

shade of grey. Choose a brand that’s

good at both. Whilst brands attract

with the bottle, they build loyalty

with taste, so if you ﬁnd something

you like the look of be sure to sip

before choosing to stock.

When we talk about the appeal of

a bottle – remember it might not just

be about aesthetics. Sustainability in

spirits packaging is a big thing, and a

consideration for many consumers

who want to shop more ethically.

Avallen Calvados is a great example

of someone doing it well with their

lightweight, zero plastic bottles,

whilst FAIR Spirits have also become

a deserving poster child for

responsible brand ethos.

The sustainable packaging factor

may become an even bigger

inﬂuence on buying habits as

proposed packaging regulations

(the EPR in England and Wales, the

DRS in Scotland) come into play.

Brands will have to cover the full net

cost of managing their packaging

waste, so expect to see brands

starting to take action to reduce that

waste. What will this mean for you?

Well, it might mean possible price

increases being passed down the

supply chain, and you might want to

think about how to reorder your

shelf. Choose quality liquids with

responsible, attractive packaging

and you’re onto a winner.

Britain will not relax its food

safety standards as part of any

deal to secure lower tarifs on its

exports to the United States,

business secretary Jonathan

Reynolds said on Sunday.

US president Donald Trump

has imposed 10% tarifs on most

imports of British goods to the

United States and a higher 25%

rate on imports of cars, steel and

aluminium.

Although the tarifs imposed

on Britain are at the lower end of

the United States’ scale,

Reynolds said he still viewed the

greater trade barriers as

“disappointing”.

Last month, after the tarifs

were announced, Reynolds said

it was “not inaccurate” to say the

United States and Britain had

agreed the broad outline of a

possible deal, though Trump had

seen it.

However, there has been

little sign of progress since, and

chancellor Rachel Reeves said

she intended to meet US

treasury secretary Scott Bessent

“shortly”.

Attempts to strike a bilateral

trade deal during Trump’s ﬁrst

term in 2017-21 ran into

opposition from Britain’s

Conservative government at the

time over measures to lower

animal welfare and environ-

mental standards.

Reynolds said looser food

standards remained of the table

for the Labour administration,

as he viewed that as breaching

promises made in 2024’s

election campaign.

“We will never change our

SPS (sanitary and phytosani-

tary) food standards. We’ve

made that perfectly clear to the

United States,” he told Sky

News.

Common US and Canadian

practices such as washing raw

chicken in chlorinated water or

feeding growth hormones to

cattle are banned in Britain and

the European Union, although

others did meet British

standards.

UK won’t relax food rules for US trade deal

Reynolds: US safety

standards still of the table

NEWS/COMMENT

NEWS

6 ASIAN TRADER 2 MAY 2025

The cost of entry-level jobs has

just risen over 10% for retailers

across the country, and by a

massive 13% for those working

part-time.

This is a result of the double

tier of costs hitting the industry

with the rise in National

Insurance Contributions (NICs)

coupled with the increase to the

National Living Wage.

Higher National Living Wage

and changes to employer NICs

will together cost the retail

industry over £5 billion a year,

rising to £7bn when the new

packaging tax (Extended

Producer Responsibility or EPR)

comes into force in October.

The changes to the NIC

threshold, which fell from

£9,100 to £5,000, means many

more part-time and entry-level

jobs will now be captured by the

tax, reducing the incentive for

many businesses to ofer them.

This comes as the Govern-

ment implements its new

welfare reforms aimed at

“helping people who can work

to do so” (Liz Kendall, Work and

Pensions Secretary).

Part-time jobs play an

important role in supporting

people back into work, allowing

people to work the hours they

feel able to do. Unfortunately,

such roles would now cost

businesses 13.5% more (based

on 15 hours per week), as

changes to employer NIC’s

disproportionately afect

ﬂexible and entry-level roles.

According to the most recent

ONS data, there were 1.5 million

part-time jobs in retail in 2024,

the lowest on record, and down

200,000 since 2018.

A recent analysis by the

British Retail Consortium

suggested that a further 160,000

part-time retail roles – more than

1 in 10 – were at risk of being lost

in the next three years.

As Chancellor’s measures take e�ect, stores su�er

Part-time job costs

soar for retailers

A signiﬁcant portion of the

population is unaware of the

meanings behind packaging

symbols, recent research

shows.

According to a study of

800 British people, 90% of

respondents admitted to

knowing the meaning of

only a few symbols, while 6%

confessed to not under-

standing any at all.

Just a small group (4%)

reported being well-versed

in these symbols, facilitating

more efective waste

separation.

The study found that

when uncertain about which

bin to use for a particular

piece of packaging, 58% rely

on their intuition. Only 17%

consult ofcial waste

separation guidelines,

whereas 21% dispose of such

packaging in the general

waste bin without further

consideration.

The study asked respond-

ents about the meanings of

seven packaging symbols.

On average, 82% correctly

identiﬁed them. However,

participants struggled most

with the symbol indicating

that “each piece of packag-

ing, a ﬁnancial contribution

has been paid to a national

packaging recovery organi-

sation,” with only 12%

recognising it.

Additionally, 14% failed

to identify the glass recy-

cling symbol. In contrast,

nearly all respondents

recognized the symbol

meaning “you should throw

it in the trash after use.”

‘Packaging symbols remain

a mystery for most people’

JW Filshill vape guide

ahead of ban

Glasgow-based wholesaler JW

Filshill is encouraging its customers

to act now to ensure they are

prepared for the June disposable

vapes ban.

Within the new guide, there are

sections on optimising a new range

of vapes with the bestselling

rechargeable devices and how to

best educate staf and customers

about the new regulations and legal

alternatives.

It advises that all remaining

stocks of single-use vapes are sold

before 1 June or disposed of safely,

and to purchase only vapes that

adhere to the new regulations.

Pets Choice acquires

Pettex, cat-litter arm

Pet food manufacturer Pets

Choice has agreed to purchase

Pettex Ltd, including the whole of

their Cat Litter and Small Animal

business.

The latest acquisition by Pets

Choice follows the purchase of

Vet’s Kitchen and a number of

brands from PetLife International

last year.

The Pettex owners will be retain-

ing the Reptile and Aquatic

business which will be trading as a

separate entity going forwards

under Pettex Aquatics Ltd.

The brands will join Pets

Choice’s family of oferings, which

include Webbox, Bob Martin,

Felight, Tastybone and B-Calm.

Police accelerate

shoplifter prosecutions

Essex Police is speeding up the

process of putting suspects for

shop thefts before a court, through

two new schemes aimed to improve

conviction.

According to its Business Crime

Team, the schemes will improve

conviction rates while freeing up

ofcers’ time and allowing them to

get back out on the streets of the

neighbourhoods.

In the year to 31 March, ofcers

made 1,374 arrests for shop theft

and assaults on retail staf in Essex

– securing 2,442 charges – and

solved 530 more ofences than in

the previous 12 months.

NEWS

2 MAY 2025 ASIAN TRADER 7

NEWS

The debate around low trafc

neighbourhoods (LTNs) has

become increasingly polarised.

For many independent

retailers, the prospect of

restricting vehicle access near

their shops initially triggers

alarm bells. After all, conven-

tional wisdom suggests that

cars equal customers.

But what if this assumption

is fundamentally ﬂawed?

Our latest High Street

Matters podcast reveals a more

nuanced and ultimately more

optimistic picture. In both

London and Birmingham, we’ve

discovered how thoughtfully

implemented LTNs can breathe

new life into struggling high

streets.

Take Wandsworth Bridge

Road in London. Prior to the

creation of adjacent LTNs, it was

a thoroughfare, with 80% of

vehicles merely passing

through rather than stopping to

shop. The creation of adjacent

LTNs provided changed things.

An annual street fair now

attracts 20,000 visitors, and

parklets have transformed the

pedestrian experience. What

was once just a congested road is

a destination where people

linger – and spend.

In Birmingham’s Kings

Heath, the pedestrianisation of

York Road has transformed a

rat-run into what Henry

Poultney of Grace and James

wine shop describes as having

“almost a holiday strip”

atmosphere. His business has

pivoted from being primarily

retail to focusing 75% on

hospitality, with outdoor

seating creating a continental

café culture.

But these success stories

come with important caveats.

Both demonstrate half-meas-

ures don’t work – simply

blocking a road without

additional investment in the

streetscape leaves an unﬁn-

ished project. As Natalie Lindsay

from the Wandsworth Bridge

Road Association put it, “The

places that have fallen foul are

places where the councils have

tweaked rather than trans-

formed.”

This gets to the heart of what

makes an LTN succeed or fail for

local businesses. The critical

factor isn’t the trafc reduction

itself – it’s whether the scheme

places the high street at its

centre.

Too often, councils imple-

ment LTNs with narrow

objectives focused solely on

reducing vehicle numbers or

improving air quality. These are

worthy goals, but they miss

tremendous opportunities.

For LTNs to work for

independent retailers, they

need three key ingredients:

First, ambition. Piecemeal

approaches that merely

displace trafc create more

problems than they solve.

Councils must think bigger,

with comprehensive plans of

transformation.

Second, integration. High

streets must be at the heart of

these plans, not an after-

thought. This means involving

local traders early on.

Third, completion. Half-ﬁn-

ished schemes with temporary

barriers and minimal streets-

cape improvements fail to

create the environment that

attracts customers.

The evidence suggests that

when done properly, LTNs can

create vibrant, people-focused

spaces where independent

businesses thrive. But this only

happens when local authorities

work hand-in-hand with the

business community.

In his regular column, Bira CEO Andrew Goodacre argues that fewer

cars can mean more footfall and improved sales

Beyond cars – how low

trafc neighbourhoods can

revitalise our high streets

Parfetts expands fresh

and chilled range

The wholesaler has grown its fresh

and chilled ofer to over 500 lines

in-depot and online, attracting 900

customers. It expects to more than

double the number of customers over

the next months, with over 2,000

customers ordering regularly. A key

part of this strategy is a bespoke

partnership with Eden Farm.

Retailers can access thousands of

additional lines through the partner-

ship to increase the availability. The

products cater to diverse needs,

including dairy, desserts, meats, and

plant-based options. Parfetts