LOCAL NEWS AND VIEWS FOR NFRN MEMBERS …...Hetal Patel District President It gives me great pleasure to introduce myself as your London district president for 2019-2020. It is an

LOCAL NEWS AND VIEWS FOR NFRN MEMBERS

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June to August 2019

At branch level, I served firstly as a general member and branch delegate before attending Annual Conference as a branch delegate. On two occasions I have been branch president. Over the past seven years, I have been working closely alongside the London district council and executive. With the experience and skills I have gained over the years, I am confident of a successful term ahead.

In my coming year as president, there are a few issues that I want to address. For example, issues from suppliers, such as late deliveries, missing paperwork and credit issues. Should any of these happen to you, I would encourage you to contact the very helpful NFRN Connect team by telephoning 0800 121 6376 and to utilise various WhatsApp group chats. There are other issues that we need to find solutions for, such as recent increases in instances of crimes within the retailer community. If the opportunity arises, we would like to work with the local authorities and councils to tackle these problems.

In the coming year, and as the president of London district, I would like to actively look at the branches that are inactive. We could try to revive them or even consider merging them with any active neighbouring branches. Doing so will ensure that our members are provided with all the important information required to assist their businesses.

The NFRN continues to celebrate its Centenary Year and there are lots of events going on. For example, a huge trade show was due to take place in Brighton on June 16 and 17 at

our Annual Conference. London district is also planning to organise some of our own events, such as a Big Curry Night with a trade show alongside.

I wish you all the best for the coming year and I look forward to meeting you all at your branch meeting.

Hetal PatelDistrict President

It gives me great pleasure to introduce myself as your London district president for 2019-2020. It is an honour to serve you. My journey with the Federation began 15 years ago from the Windsor and Maidenhead branch, now called Berks and Bucks branch.

LONDON DISTRICTSUMMER BULLETIN

LONDON DISTRICT BULLETIN2019

Customers served by Smiths News Hemel Hempstead were able to raise concerns about missing credits, newspaper shortages and late deliveries when they met with management from the news wholesaler on May 17.

Kicking off the meeting at the Hemel Hempstead depot, NFRN news operation manager Peter Williamson set the scene by sharing Federation statistics for the period between February 1 and April 30.

These showed that there were 506 complaints about these three issues to NFRN Connect during that period.

Disappointment was expressed at Smiths News’ performance in responding to these complaints within the agreed 48 hour time period, with Mr Williamson revealing that over the three month period this averaged 69.1 per cent. However, he admitted that there had been an improvement since the beginning of May.

Responding, Smiths News management insisted that the lateness, particularly to Hemel Hempstead customers, was not the news wholesaler’s fault. They explained that 18 months ago, the newspapers arrived on five different publisher vehicles. These days, there were just two lorries.

Calls for publishers to bring forward their print deadlines by 15 minutes were repeated, as the NFRN insisted this would help to improve delivery times into members’ stores. Federation data was shared which showed there had been 758 instances in 89 days of a newspaper title arriving into Hemel Hempstead, Hornsey, Hammersmith and Stevenage between 16 and 30 minutes before cut off.

NEC member Peter Wagg recorded his disappointment with Hemel’s RDT performance

DELIVERY DELAYS NOT OUR FAULT, SMITHS NEWS TELLS HEMEL HEMPSTEAD CUSTOMERS

as from March onwards and on 63 out of 89 dates the 95 per cent target was missed.

Accepting that more could be done to improve retail delivery times, Smiths News agreed to further review its inbound, packing and delivery processes.

It was further agreed that the NFRN and Smiths News would work together to identify publishers who were persistently failing to deliver into wholesale on time and to further investigate the impact that vehicle consolidation was having.

The NFRN advised that it had already written to both the News Media Association (NMA) and its supply chain committee asking it to come up with solutions to prevent bunching at wholesale depots up and down the country.

Responding to concerns from London president Hetal Patel regarding overweight bundles, Smiths News advised that it would adjust measurements on its strapping machines while contractors would be reminded of the agreed maximum weight for newspaper parcels.

Joining the London district president, Mr Wagg and Mr Williamson at the meeting on behalf of the NFRN were its head of news Brian Murphy, Raj Wadher, Rajesh Ganatra, Anant Patel, Raju Patel and Jayesh Patel.

LOCAL NEWS AND VIEWS FOR NFRN MEMBERS 2019

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Correctly guessing the sex and weight of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new born son earned London retailer Kamal Thaker a beautiful hamper packed with a selection of luxury beauty products worth £200 in a royal baby competition run by the NFRN and Hello! magazine.

A delighted Mr Thaker of Stop Shop News in Edgware is pictured with his prize.

He said: “Wow. I never win anything. My wife will be delighted!”

The competition was run on the NFRN’s website, www.nfrnonline.com, in the run up to the birth of baby Archie on May 6. Prince Harry and Megan Markle’s first child weighed 7lb and 3oz at birth.

RIGHT ROYAL SURPRISE FOR EDGWARE MEMBER!

PETER AND MANNY ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD!the award for ‘Best Lotto Event Performance’ after achieving the best overall sales for the Lotto Christmas Super Draw event.

Meanwhile, Mr Wagg of News on the Wharf, Canary Wharf, London won ‘Best EuroMillions Event Performance’, after having the best overall sales for the EuroMillions SMJG event in February.

Congratulations to Peter Wagg and Manoj Patel who have proved that when it comes to lottery retailing they are out of this world!

Both were winners at the inaugural Camelot Retailer Awards which took place at the National Lottery-funded National Space Centre in Leicester.

Mr Patel of Mannys in Surbiton took home


It is very important to check carefully all the paperwork that you receive from your news wholesaler and report any mistakes to them and to NFRN Connect as soon as possible, as one London member recently found out.

When checking his weekly invoice, the member was shocked to discover that he had been double charged for his carriage charge, meaning he had paid nearly £130 for a week of deliveries. Ironically, this happened as the NFRN was stepping up its “Enough’s Enough” campaigning activity against these sky high charges.

Initially, the member tried to seek a resolution directly, but when he failed to get a satisfactory answer, he called on the services of NFRN Connect. One of the team was more than happy to take up the case and all it took was one email to the wholesaler’s accounts department. Having spotted the mistake, it promptly processed a refund.

CHECK YOUR PAPERWORK CAREFULLY

Several members have utilised NFRN Connect to report continued issues with late deliveries from their supplying wholesaler. Unfortunately, it would appear that the issues have not just been exclusive to just one of the suppliers and members served by both Smiths News and Menzies Distribution have been suffering.

As a result of these reports, senior management at the NFRN have been able to meet with both wholesalers to establish the root causes of the issues and to discuss what resolutions can be put in place. We have also been able to liaise with newspaper publishers to put pressure on them to improve their arrival times.

Without such communications from members we would be unable to escalate complaints to the highest possible levels within wholesale so it is vital that members across the district continue to engage with us on any service failings.

Our phone number is 0800 121 6376 or you can reach us via email to [email protected].

CALL CONNECT WHEN YOUR PAPERS ARE LATE


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In our last bulletin we brought you photos from the 90th London district dinner and among those attending was our oldest surviving member Arthur Parish, who at 93 is a sprightly gentleman.

He can be seen in the picture above with his eldest daughter Carol and son-in-law David at our district meeting the next day.

Arthur joined the Federation 50 years ago, and was originally a member of Crawley council which was in the Southern District then. He had

THE INSPIRATIONAL ARTHUR PARISH

Thank you for a really enjoyable evening. It was great to see everyone and both my team and guests that attended had a good time. Thanks again.William MartinArea Sales ManagerJTI

three shops and retired back in 1990. These days, Arthur likes to visit Brighton Marina so delegates from our district at Annual Conference this month were keeping an eye out for him. In July he will be celebrating his 94th birthday.

Congratulations Arthur. You are an inspiration to us all.

Since our dinner dance thank you letters from some of the suppliers who joined us have been flooding in. Here are some of their lovely comments.

We thoroughly enjoyed

the event and it was

especially pleasing to see

so many friendly, familiar

faces. Boost would be

very happy to support

any future events.

Tony Owen

National Account Manager

Boost Drinks Ltd. Leeds

Really enjoyed the evening, food was really lovely and the entertainment was amazing.

Look forward to working with you in the future

Osman Saeed Retail Development Manager Sunbury, Watford, Greenford, Tottenham and ActonBooker


Following the introduction of new legislation which came into effect from May 20 2019 only retailers who have ‘Track and Trace’ compliant IDs for their business and for each of their premises are now allowed to purchase unit packets of cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco.

All unit packets of cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco manufactured or imported in the EU (except for existing stock) must now have unique identifiers (UIDs) on the packaging, have five specific security features on the packaging and be scanned at certain points in the supply chain.

There is, however, a 12-month window for stocks of product manufactured or imported before May 20 2019 to clear the system.

The ever popular Big Curry Night is returning to the capital on Thursday October 10 giving members a chance to spice up their profits!

Once again, it will be held at the City Pavilion in Romford and we are confident that it will be a great success.

Organised jointly by the NFRN and industry charity NewstrAid, the event is designed

SPICE UP YOUR PROFITS: OUR BIG CURRY NIGHT RETURNS TO LONDON

to highlight the great work that both organisations do for past and present news retailers.

Make sure you put the date in your diary and come along for an excellent curry, a superb trade show and, more importantly, the ideal opportunity to catch up with old friends, make new ones and grab a bargain or two. There will also be a raffle to raise money for the two charities and you never know – you may win a fantastic prize!

Do make the effort to attend! We can guarantee you will NOT regret it!

TRACK AND TRACE:ARE YOU COMPLIANT?

This new legislation forms part of the Tobacco Products Directive and has been designed to help detect illicit goods.

Non compliance will result in retailers losing their ability to sell tobacco. This availability will also be removed if a retailer has:

• sold illicit tobacco on three or more occasions within any 12-month period, and as a result illicit tobacco has been seized;

• failed to rectify their non-compliance after being issued a compliance notice;

• received a fine of £10,000 or more for the sales of illicit products; • been convicted of selling illicit goods under the Customs and Excise Acts;

• or if they haven’t used their IDs in the last 12-months.


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Shocked and saddened at the senseless murder of London newsagent Ravi Katharkamar, who was attacked while opening his shop in Pinner on March 24 2019, the NFRN has set up a fund raising page to assist his grieving family.

We have set ourselves a target of £5,000, with all donations welcome via our JustGiving page. All the money raised will go directly to the family.

Proceeds from a raffle at the recent spring national council meeting and its gala dinner raised a total of £1,327.

To donate visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ravi-katharkamar

In the last bulletin when advising of the five local members who reached the finals of the NFRN Awards, we printed the wrong surname for the owner of The Pagoda in Ealing. His correct name is Dhiren Sheth and we would like to apologise for this error.

HELP US HELP THE FAMILY OF PINNER NEWSAGENT RAVI

AN APOLOGY

On May 14 NEC member and London retailer Peter Wagg helped National President Mike Mitchelson lay bare the challenges facing NFRN members when the Federation’s 2019 Independent Retail Report was launched at a reception in the House of Commons.

The lunchtime event had been sponsored by Labour MP David Hanson and fellow MP Laurence Robertson from Tewkesbury.

Addressing MPs, Mr Mitchelson said: “In the current trading environment, where our operating costs go ever upwards and our customers are tightening their belts, independent retailers face unprecedented challenges. As you will see from the Independent Retail Report these include crime and violence, business rates, competition and regulation, to name just a few.

“Do please take a copy and, having read it please think about the ways in which you can lend support – not just for the NFRN but for all the independent retailers in your constituencies who are at the heart of your communities.

“In this current trading environment retailers have never faced such a challenging time but I am confident that with your help independent retailers everywhere can become stronger and face those challenges.”

SHARING MEMBERS’ CONCERNS WITH MINISTERS, MPS AND PEERS WHO CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Peter Wagg laying bare members’ concerns at the launch of the Independent Retail Report

At the London District AGM on March 19 at the Grange Hotel, London, Hetal Patel was elected our district president.

In his address Hetal said he was very proud to hold this exalted position in the NFRN’s centenary year and he was looking forward to working with colleagues, his district executive, and staff to help guide London district “into the future”. He also paid tribute to outgoing London president, Nilesh Patel, and said he aimed to build on his achievements.

Elected as district vice president was Alpesh Patel from Hertfordshire branch, with Kishore

ALL CHANGE AT THE TOP AFTER LONDON DISTRICT AGMChandarana from the Bucks and Berks branch, voted in as our deputy vice president.

Our five national councillors for the forthcoming year are Alpesh Patel (Hertfordshire branch), Pravin Shah (Hertfordshire branch), Hetal Patel (Berks and Bucks branch), Kamal Thaker (London North West branch) and Peter Wagg (London East branch).

Elected unopposed as district almoner was Val Chung, with everyone at the meeting paying tribute to the sterling work that she does on behalf of the members of the London district.


National President Mike Mitchelson visited the London district council meeting on February 25 at the Grange Tower Bridge Hotel.

Following an extremely successful London district dinner held the night before at the Tower Hotel, Mr Michelson paid tribute to the district for its energy in organising such successful events and for its members’ enthusiasm.

Also taking part in a lively debate on a range of issues were national vice president Stuart Reddish and national deputy vice president, Muntizar Dipoti.

Following tradition and to mark the occasion of the National President visiting the district, the then London president Nilesh Patel presented Mike Mitchelson with an engraved glass bowl. In return, Mr Mitchelson presented Mr Patel with a framed print of his local area.

NATIONAL PRESIDENT VISITS THE DISTRICT


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Many people are familiar with the tradition of Easter egg hunts, but a local residents’ society adopted a variation on this idea by holding a bunny hunt!

This event proved to be great fun for children and adults alike as they huntedfor home-made bunnies placed in shop windows in Queens Road, Buckhurst Hill, Essex.

Each child had a form to complete detailing the shops they had visited and the bunnies they had spotted. Participating shopkeepers would sign the form and vouchers that could be spent in one of the shops were given to the first 10 children completing these forms.

Local shopkeeper Val Chung who took part in this initiative said: “Queens Road in Buckhurst Hill is a long road and as the name would suggest from top to bottom it is very hilly – easier to walk down from the top, than up from the bottom end!

“There are shops at the bottom and at the top with a large residential area in the middle. This event is brilliant as it encourages families to walk up and down their local shopping area and walk into shops they would not necessarily go into anymore. With the hot sunny weather we were blessed with, Easter was perfect for exploring the local area and giving us all a smile and a boost in trade.”

RESIDENTS’ SOCIETY SUPPORTS TRADERS AT EASTER WITH BUNNY HUNT

Our new top team line up for the camera


will almost certainly not be paid the full value of your claim.

Financial disasterThe impact from any unexpected event; whether it be retail crime, fire, storm or flood, can be damaging to your business in a number of ways. But have you ever considered the impact on your ability to trade? It could be days, weeks or even months. Loss of revenue, especially at peak trading times, can be extremely damaging and without sufficient cover, the future of your business could be in doubt.

“We would definitely recommend the Mutual. We were given loss of earnings

on three occasions when we asked, which kept the business solvent. Being closed for

six weeks over the Christmas period, which is our peak trading time, could have been a

financial disaster but the interim payments were a godsend.” Mr Baillie, Perth

When you are a busy newsagent or convenience store owner, administration is just one of those tasks which can be difficult to find the time for. Knowing what to include as part of your business cover so that you are not at risk of being under-insured, is a minefield. The simplest way to look at it is – what have you got to lose?

“Over the May bank holiday in 2018, my store was the target of a ram raid theft and in the process of forcing the machine through

my store, the thieves inflicted thousands of pounds worth of damage. Fortunately, I had

comprehensive cover in place with The Retail Mutual and was able to claim for stock and contents, as well as all the damage to the

fixtures and shop front.” Mr Patel, Banstead

Protecting against retail crimeRetail crime incidents such as ram raids and shop theft are on the rise but whilst you can have deterrents in place, you can’t predict when they will strike or how much damage the culprits will cause. Incidents often occur in the early hours of the morning and can take less than five minutes to cause thousands of pounds worth of damage to your store.

Stock and contents are an area where shop owners can find themselves under-insured. Whether you have not considered seasonal stock fluctuation or if you have changed the stock levels you hold, ensuring your cover limits are correct could prevent you from a larger loss. For example, your cover limit for cigarettes is £5,000 but you’ve just re-stocked with £7,500-worth, which is then lost in an overnight break-in. Unless you have told your insurer that you want to increase your cover limit you

INSURANCE – WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE?

At The Retail Mutual we try to make the process of organising your business cover as pain-free as possible. Start by calling 0333 2127 263 for a quote or visit www.theretailmutual.com to find out more.


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After successful multi branch business events in south and west London, Tuesday June 4 saw members from the Southend, London East & Central, Barking & Havering, and North West Kent branches getting the chance to sample this new format meeting.

The New Tandoori Parlour restaurant in Benfleet, Essex was, therefore, the venue and the event attracted support from various trade partners including Camelot, Smartbits, NISA, Kardwell Hobbs, JTI and Menzies Distribution. NFRN head of political engagement Adrian Roper and news operations manager Peter Williamson were also on hand to update members on their latest activities. A question and answer session with the trade partners proved popular and, as expected, there was some lively debate with Menzies Distribution management.

For everyone attending, and courtesy of London district, there was a free tray of Booker energy drink, some special trade deals, and free outers of tobacco papers on a first come first served basis. A raffle on the night raised £140 which will be split equally between the NFRN’s Ratcliffe Fund and industry charity NewstrAid. Comments from both the trade partners present and members were extremely positive. The secretary of the Southend branch which hosted the event, Adrian Cooke, said that he was “chuffed” that all the hard work that was involved in organising the event had paid off.

FOUR BRANCHES UNITE FOR BUSINESS EVENT AND ENJOY HOT DEALS

A national campaign to raise awareness of a system to help people alert police when in imminent danger but unable to speak was launched by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) on April 8.

The Silent Solution system enables a 999 mobile caller who is too scared to make a noise, or speak, to press 55 when prompted – to inform police they are in a genuine emergency.

The system is well-established in the UK, but is only effective if the public know and understand how it works. It could, in extreme situations, potentially save a life.

Its launch was backed by the family of murder victim Kerry Power, Women’s Aid and Welsh Women’s Aid, and the National Police Chiefs’ Council.

Prior to her murder, Kerry believed that if she made a silent 999 call she would not need to speak or make a noise for police to send assistance. Sadly, her call was terminated and was not put through to the police control room, because she did not know to use the Silent Solution system.

It is not true that police will automatically attend if you make a silent 999 call. Callers need to listen and respond to questions and instructions, including by coughing or tapping the handset if possible, or if using a mobile phone, once

NATIONAL CAMPAIGN RAISES AWARENESS OF THE SILENT SOLUTION SYSTEM – AND COULD SAVE LIVES

Contact: Hetal Patel, District President T: 0208 500 2336 | E: [email protected]


prompted by the automated Silent Solution system to, press 55.

The system filters out thousands of accidental or hoax silent 999 calls made daily. Around 50 emergency calls from mobiles a day are transferred by a BT operator to police forces in the UK as a result of someone having pressed 55 when prompted, enabling the police to carry out urgent enquiries to respond.

IOPC regional director Catrin Evans said: “It is always best to actually speak to a police call handler if you can, even if by whispering, but if you are putting yourself or someone else in danger by making a sound, there is something you can do. Make yourself heard by coughing, tapping the handset or once prompted by the automated system, by pressing 55.

“We found from our investigation into police contact with Kerry that there is a lack of public awareness of the Silent Solution system and are keen to share this important information as widely as possible. It could potentially save a life.”

For more information visit https//www.policeconduct.gov.uk/news/national-camplaign-raise-awareness-silent-solution-system

In danger, need the police but can’t speak?

1. Dial 999

2. Listen to the questions asked by the operator

3. Respond by coughing or tapping the handset if possible

4. If prompted press 55 to let the operator know it is a genuine emergency.

Documents

LOCAL NEWS AND VIEWS FOR NFRN MEMBERS …...Hetal Patel District President It gives me great pleasure to introduce myself as your London district president for 2019-2020. It is an