For the latest edition of C&I NZ, Dave Hooker, Executive Director of the New Zealand Association of Convenience Stores (NZACS), offers a perspective on the year that’s been and the one to come.
Looking back at 2022, it was great to be able to run a complete program of in-person events, including the C&I Expo in Auckland. There was genuine enthusiasm amongst suppliers and retailers to reconnect and re-engage with each other.
A number of member companies from New Zealand attended the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) show in the US, with more than 25,000 attendees over three days. Speaking with convenience store association leaders from the US, Europe, Australia and Canada, most are dealing with similar challenges and issues.
On a macroeconomic level, the challenges facing convenience stores across the globe are similar, just to varying degrees. Inflation, cost of fuel, supply costs and labour shortages are affecting everyone. At a local level, several countries are very focused on swipe card transaction fees, which represent a multi-billion dollar cost across the markets. In addition, illegal tobacco and navigating the emerging electric vehicle (EV) landscape are on everyone’s agenda to some degree.
Our global colleagues were shocked by the proposed raft of smoke-free changes working their way through government here in New Zealand, and we stand out in the area of retail crime also. NZACS will continue to inform members of the progress of this bill and lobby on their behalf at every opportunity. We will watch the passage of this bill extremely closely as it has the potential to cause the biggest shake-up in the convenience industry of all time. A survey by Imperial showed that up to 4,000 convenience stores could close if the proposed retail reduction from around 8,000 retail outlets selling tobacco to just 600 is introduced in 2024. All stores will need to model this change and plan to adapt to the degree required to compensate for this change. There will be some big winners but many more losers.
NZACS will continue to provide the annual State of the Industry report with the addition of six monthly updates. Scan sales MAT to the end of September sourced through NielsenIQ showed sales up through supermarkets, liquor and pharmacy but down by $16m or 0.7 per cent in the organised oil channel, influenced mainly by the continuing decline in tobacco sales. In addition to this, we will run the Peter Jowett scholarship for emerging talent and the industry awards night. We are also looking at the feasibility of a two-day c-store simulation course and a Down Under study tour in Australia.
The organised oil channel that we represent and its suppliers certainly have some headwinds as we move into 2023. Focusing on competitive fuel pricing, retail standards, expense control, enhancing our offer, and looking after customers and staff will be more important than ever.
This article originally appeared in the C&I NZ section of the February edition of FMCG Business.
