91
Royal Mail to rebrand thousands
of convenience stores
Diwali
Cocktails and RTDs
29
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5 NEWS
Leader: Turn on the lights
Royal Mail to rebrand thousands of
convenience stores
Generational smoking ban threatens Labour’s
grip
Majority of shoppers back body worn cameras
to protect staff
Food trade deal to be implemented within a
year – EU trade chief
Government announces plans for communities
to reclaim high streets
Guest column: The vanity of vodka – we can
make it work harder
Guest column: Beyond Christmas – Why the
Golden Quarter matters more than ever
17 NEWS FEATURE: The age of
artificial retail
Artificial intelligence has started sweeping
through the convenience sector, although it
has yet to prove its cost-effectiveness
22 SPECIAL FEATURE: The
store that never sleeps
Are vending machines the next big leap for
convenience retail? Mo Razzaq tells Pooja
Shrivastava why he is betting on it
24 OUT AND ABOUT
See what’s been happening in Grocery Land
this month – plus gossip and rumours
26 RETAIL CORNER: Fiercely
independent, fiercely local
At this Hereford store it is less about sales and
more about giving the village a healthy and
sustainable lifestyle
29 FEATURE: DIWALI
With a well-curated stock and smart displays,
you can turn this Diwali into a festival of sales
44 AWARD-WINNER
INTERVIEW
2024’s Symbol Retailer of the Year, Kersheaup
Vagadia, has proven that with local knowledge
and a hot food revolution, convenience can
beat off any competitor
50/54/68/82/86
BIG INTERVIEW
Joanne Thomas, the new General Secretary of
shopworkers’ union Usdaw, talks about rights,
crime and community - and how the union
intends to improve life for retail workers
As Bestway Wholesale celebrates 50 years,
Asian Trader asked its MD Dawood Pervez
to look back – and forward – and give us his
thoughts about what’s next for convenience
Parfetts joint MDs, Guy Swindell and Noel
Robinson, on what makes the wholesaler tick
and where it is headed next...
Asian Trader sits down for a pow-wow with
Stuart Graham, Head of Convenience and
Impulse at KP Snacks, to find out what’s in
store for snacks
The MD of UK Juul Labs, Melissa Wisdom,
explains the mission behind the new JUUL2
range and what the vape sector needs to do next
58 ME AND MY BRAND – STG
Prianka Jhingan explains the long-lasting,
sophisticated appeal of Signature Action, as
cigarillos
capture a larger and larger share of the market
61 FEATURE: TOBACCO & RYO
Tobacco products and accessories remain an
important source of category revenue for indies,
and despite government plans, the situation is
unlikely to go change any time soon
75 FEATURE: PMPs
For quality and value, PMPs are a shopper’s
dream, power-tools for the retailers to fight the
EDLP fight with the mults and bring footfall
in-store
91 FEATURE: COCKTAILS & RTDs
Retailers should make the most of this
c-channel secret weapon and discover the fizz
that RTDs and cocktail concoctions can add to
your sales
101 FEATURE: HALLOWEEN &
BONFIRE NIGHT
Learn from the scare-season experts how
convenience retailers can turn fright night into
bright profits
17th October to 13th November 2025
THE VOICE OF INDEPENDENT RETAILERS
VOLUME 37 NUMBER 970