LOCAL NEWS AND VIEWS FOR NFRN MEMBERS

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March – August 2019

This year is an important one for our Federation as we are celebrating our centenary – no mean feat, indeed. The NFRN is as relevant for independent retailers today as it was back in 1919 but it is a members’ organisation so we must get involved and play a part in its future. Be proactive and attend local meetings, log onto NFRNOnline.com, the Federation’s website, as it contains a wealth of information, and make sure you keep up to date with what is happening in our industry by reading The Fed, this newsletter and the other regular communications that are sent out from head office.

Remember, too, that help is on hand whenever you have a problem, whether this is through NFRN Connect, NFRN Legal, NFRN Assist or our local retail development manager. All these benefits are at your fingertips and what they clearly demonstrate is that as a member of the NFRN you are never alone.

For many independent retailers trading is tough as our costs continue to rise while our margins and newspaper sales go down. With Menzies Distribution increasing its carriage charge by almost 4 per cent next month, the NFRN has relaunched its Enough’s Enough campaign. If you haven’t already done so, please complete and return the postcard calling for a full, transparent and independent review of these charges that appeared with February’s edition of The Fed, or, alternatively, sign the petition on our website.

As your new South East president I am delighted to welcome you to your spring district newsletter. To some of you, I hopefully need no introduction as I was Southern president four years ago, have been secretary of the Crawley, Horsham and East Grinstead branch for some time and, more recently, I have represented the South East district as one of our four national councillors. Last June, I was proud to be elected onto the NFRN’s national executive committee and between all these official meetings, I can be found behind the counter of Watties Newsagents in Horley in Surrey!

SOUTH EAST DISTRICTSPRING BULLETIN

As one of my aims this year I am keen to organise a trade event to give you the chance to have some serious dialogue with our trade partners and learn about new opportunities and products that can be introduced into your stores. Running alongside, I hope, will be some seminars on topics that help members run modern, bright, professional and successful stores. If you have any suggestions do let me know – my contact details can be found on the back of this newsletter. Keep an eye out for a date and a venue.

Bhavesh PatelDistrict President

SOUTH EAST DISTRICT BULLETIN2019

Congratulations to all our district members who enjoyed success at last September’s Southern Region Awards and, more recently, at the 2019 NFRN Awards which ran alongside the Federation’s centenary dinner.

At our annual local awards, held once again at Reading’s Crown Plaza Hotel on the evening of Friday September 28, the South East district fielded a highly impressive five winners and six finalists.

Metan Lakhani, of St Mary’s Supermarket in Southampton was crowned the symbol convenience retailer of the year for his commitment to high in-store standards and his clean, bright and well merchandised shop with excellent stock rotation. But Mr Lakhani had gone one step further by expanding his range to include food to go products and take out coffee.

Among those he beat to win this award was Ketanji Odedra of Cherilyn Ltd in Pulborough, West Sussex, who was also shortlisted in the Confectionery Retailer of the Year category.

Our district fielded three winners in the Store2Door Deliverer of the Year category, with Ilias Fisk and Daniel Talbot from the Paper Shop in Gravesend, Kent, jointly winning the top accolade and Leo Bilton from Graham News in Hayward’s Heath, Sussex, being announced as one of two Merit award winners.

All three boys were recognised for the kindness and consideration they show to their customers, whether this was keeping an eye out for the elderly or taking out and returning heavy rubbish wheelie bins. Their work ethics were seen as “outstanding” as all had worked for their employers for some time, would deliver in all weathers and were always happy to provide holiday or sickness cover. According to the judges, all three will shine when they go into the world of full time employment.

Always having the latest point of sale material on display, a fully stocked playstation and scratchcards laid out according to Camelot planograms led to Surrey husband and wife team, Dipak & Jayshree Shah of H & R News,

OH, WHAT A NIGHT! SOUTH EAST RETAILERS WIN BIG AT GLITTERING SOUTHERN REGION AWARDS

LOCAL NEWS AND VIEWS FOR NFRN MEMBERS 2019

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Camberley, being named Camelot Retailer of the Year. The pair also use balloons, bunting and banners to full effect to raise awareness of rollover draws and staff will always ask customers if they want a lucky dip, irrespective of the day of the week.

Runners up in this category were Sameer and Rhanda Phillips of MacFarlane’s Newsagents, Brighton, Sussex.

Well done, too, to finalists Rizwana Rafique of Rafiques Supermarket, Southampton (Responsible Retailer of the Year); Ray Culverwell of J G Riley Newsagents in Milton Hants and Kerry McGorrin-Fuller of Wingham Newsagents in Canterbury, Kent (both Store2Door Agent of the Year); and Volauthapillai Thevarajah of Nyetimber Convenience Stores in West Sussex (Off Licence of the Year).

Thanks to their success in the Southern Awards, Mr Lakhani, Mr Shah and Daniel Talbot all went forward as finalists for the 2019 NFRN Awards. Although they didn’t win they were delighted to be part of the Federation’s centenary celebrations at the glittering dinner and ceremony at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel on February 12.

As merit award winner Leo Bilton was unable to attend the Southern Regional Awards ceremony, national events manager Nigel Smith went down to his employer’s shop to present his certificate.

Pictured above with Leo are his very proud parents and Pritesh Patel, the owner of Graham’s News, in Haywards Heath, who nominated his deliverer. Leo said: “I didn’t expect to win this award and it is something that I shall treasure for always. I am just so sorry that we couldn’t make the awards evening, but I shall enter again next year!”

SOUTH EAST DISTRICT BULLETIN2019

Late newspapers and missing credits and vouchers were on the agenda when NFRN representatives met with Menzies Distribution managers at the news wholesaler’s Maidstone hub last October.

The news wholesaler warned that lateness to customers served by its Ashford branch was due to roadworks on the M20, which were due to last until March 2020.

The NFRN tabled data that showed that between July and September last year member complaints about missing credits had risen by 38 per cent. At the same time, the number of instances when a retailer received a response from the news wholesaler in 24 hours had dropped by 48 per cent. Menzies Distribution agreed to review its internal procedures.

The news wholesaler also advised that it was looking to introduce track and trace procedures on deliveries.

Representing the NFRN at this meeting were the then district president Naresh Purohit, vice president Bhavesh Patel and news operations manager Peter Williamson. They met with Maidstone regional manager Ian Nisbet and operations manager Russell Price.

After the meeting had concluded Mr Purohit and Mr Patel were taken on a tour of the depot.

LATENESS WOES CAUSED BY M20 ROAD WORKS SHARED AT NFRN AND MENZIES MAIDSTONE MEETING

Membercomplaints about missing credits & vouchers risen by

38%

Retailersreceiving a

response in 24hours dropped by

48%

LOCAL NEWS AND VIEWS FOR NFRN MEMBERS 2019

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Police and crime commissioner David Munro has promised that Surrey Police will make tackling retail crime a priority as this is viewed as a gateway to other organised offences.

His pledge came during a meeting with NFRN immediate past president Linda Sood in Guildford in January.

Also in attendance were detective chief superintendent Helen Collins, Adrian Roper, the NFRN’s head of political engagement, and the Federation’s political consultant Fiona Cuthbertson.

During discussions, Mr Munro insisted that Surrey police would always investigate retail crime incidents – even if the items stolen were less than £200 - but he warned that budget cuts stretched resources so it would not always be possible to send officers out to crime scenes. He stressed

Generous customers at immediate past president Linda Sood’s Portsmouth shop have been digging deep for retailers who are victims of crime.

Thanks to their donations for the yellow Victims of Crime tin that Mrs Sood had on her counter at Falcon News, an impressive £425.78 for fellow retailers affected by crime has been collected.

Mrs Sood is pictured right handing over a cheque for that amount to NFRN National President Mike Mitchelson at the November national council meeting.

Any South East members who possess Victims of Crime collecting tins should recently have received letters explaining how to bank the proceedings.

SURREY POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER PLEDGES TO TACKLE RETAIL CRIME

CUSTOMERS DIG DEEP FOR CRIME VICTIMS

the importance of retailers reporting all crimes, adding that beats could be changed to take in crime hot spots.

The NFRN delegation agreed to work with Surrey police to establish communications between members and their local borough commanders.

After the meeting Mr Munro tweeted that it had been a very productive meeting.

Smiths News customers may have noticed some changes to the way the news wholesaler now handles missing credit queries.

Following a change in its process, NFRN Connect has found that on several occasions requests are being made by Smiths News for members to provide their copy of the recall note to support queries that they have made for missing credit. Smiths News will then reject credit queries for customers who refuse or are unable to supply this information.

It is, therefore, very important that you ensure that you accurately complete your copy of the

With the welcome news that Mail Newspapers has recently increased the payments it gives home news delivery agents for inserting third party advertising inserts, NFRN Connect is strongly encouraging members to check they are registered for these and - just as importantly - that their figures are up to date.

The process could not be simpler. You simply need to advise your wholesaler contact centre that you wish to register for the scheme and tell them how many copies of each participating title that you deliver.

By doing so you will then receive the insert payments you are entitled to. These are paid

KEEP YOUR PAPERWORK TO AVOID CREDIT WOES

HAVE YOU REGISTERED FOR TPAI INSERTS?

recall note and retain this for your records until you are satisfied that the credit you applied for has been processed in full.

Should you receive a request for your recall note to be provided, this will be indicated as ‘recall note absent’ on your paperwork. You can email a copy to NFRN Connect who will be happy to pass it on to Smiths News for you: our email address is connect@nfrn.org.uk.

As always, should you encounter any issues with Smiths News passing credit please don’t hesitate to contact the Connect team on 0800 121 6376 who will be happy to help.

by your news wholesaler who will issue credits to registered retailers on a quarterly basis in arrears.

Registering also helps Connect to claim restitution on your behalf as this and the associated figures will provide evidence of your HND sales to your supplying wholesaler.

Remember, too, that if you are registered, you must advise your wholesaler of any differences in the number of newspapers that you deliver or if you no longer offer an HND service.

An up to date list of payments can be found in each edition of our members’ magazine The Fed.

SOUTH EAST DISTRICT BULLETIN2019

LOCAL NEWS AND VIEWS FOR NFRN MEMBERS 2019

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Back last summer – on August 19 to be exact – and in Belvedere, a lovely part of the Garden of England, a new concept for a branch meeting took place, writes North West president Naresh Purohit.

This “Dosa Day” was the brainchild of dedicated branch officials Ron and Diana Rushbrook and Jeet Chopra. The three of them set out to introduce something quite unique and unforgettable for the members who attended.

According to Mr Purohit the weather also decided to play ball and it was a glorious evening to be outdoors. The venue was a lovely pub with

It’s not just the NFRN that is celebrating its centenary – one of the residents at the Old Ben Home in Seaford has just reached the grand old age of 100!

Violet Sydenham – or Vi as she is better known – celebrated the occasion with a party with residents and staff at the home where she has lived since 1995.

For 25 years Vi worked as a shop manager at Lewis Meeson’s in Brighton.

Congratulations and a very happy belated birthday Vi!

a big garden and a play area for children. There was also an ideal spot for the chef to make mouth-watering Dosas outside.

With some exceptional food, the 49 people attending had a fantastic time. Guests included immediate past president Linda Sood and five other past National Presidents. A raffle raised £165 to be split equally between the NFRN Ratcliffe Fund and NewstrAid charity.

During the branch meeting that ran alongside the event, it was unanimously agreed that the Mid Kent and North West branches should merge.

DOSA DAY HERALDS NEW BRANCH MEETING FORMAT

FORMER SHOP MANAGER CELEBRATES HER CENTENARY

LET NEWSPRO TAKE THE PAIN FROM YOUR NEWS CATEGORYHow many of the following issues sound familiar in your store?Too many magazine titles, including several that you know you will not be able to sell? Shortages of your popular sellers? A high level of returns? Missing credits? Not enough time to manage the category?

If this sounds like you, Newspro can help!

This free membership benefit offers:

• An improvement in cash flow

• Access to a seven day helpline for guidance and advice

• No unwanted titles - only you and the Newspro team with your agreement can effect what titles you have on your shelves

• Less time needed to spend on category

• Better display and customer experience

• Regular updates on the latest products and promotions

• Home delivery support

To find out more please contact us by emailing newspro@nfrn.org.uk or call0800 121 6376.

Contact: Bhavesh Patel, District PresidentT: 07960 851337 | E: southeast@nfrnonline.comwww.nfrnonline.com

SOUTH EAST DISTRICT BULLETIN2019

Our new district president Bhavesh Patel travelled to London in January for a two day seminar at the NFRN’s head office together with eight other district vice presidents to prepare them for their time in office.

After being greeted by National President Mike Mitchelson, national vice president Stuart Reddish and national deputy vice president Muntazir Dipoti, there were training sessions on how to run a district council meeting and on handling the media, as well as a tour of the NFRN offices to meet staff and hear how each of the departments operates and assists members.

There was also a dinner with senior officials, publishers, news wholesalers and business partners and a trip to the Guardian offices in nearby Kings Cross.

Bhavesh, who as you will have seen from the front page runs Watties Newsagents in Horley, Surrey, is second from the right in the above photograph.

NEW DISTRICT PRESIDENT PREPARES FOR THE HOT SEAT!