Based on feedback from our Members, AACS has developed an exclusive new ‘Convenience Leadership Program’ in conjunction with Idria [part of the Australian Institute of Management]. This innovative program brings together a very experienced team of program leaders who are experts in their field from Australia and the USA. The program will allow participants to be immersed in critical areas for their businesses including marketing, strategy, foodservice and fresh developments, promotional planning and measurement just to name a few. This program is ideal for senior managers and future leaders in the Convenience channel, from both retailers and suppliers. The principles and lessons learned will be transferable to other channels as well.

Numbers will be limited and bookings will be required by no later than June 8th 2012.

For bookings please send an email to jeff@aacs.org.au

Download the information brochure here.

The committee generally meets the morning of the NZACS events of which there are usually 2 to 3 a year. The current NZACS Managing Committee have all offered themselves for re-election. They are:

Chairman: Roger Bull – CSB Group
Vice Chairman: Dave Hooker – BP Oil New Zealand
Board Members:
Campbell Bruce – Frucor Beverages New Zealand
Peter Glass – Imperial Tobacco New Zealand
Peter Morton – Herbert Morton Accountants
Simon Parham – Mobil Oil New Zealand
Tim Stevens – Star Metro Holdings Ltd
Craig Cotton – Coca Cola Amatil New Zealand

There can be a maximum of 12 members on the committee with no more than 6 retailers and 6 suppliers. Should there be more than 6 retailers and/or 6 suppliers in total nominated, there will be a voting process where members will be required to vote. If this is the case, we will communicate with you once all nominations have been received and inform you of the process.

What to do now:
1. Nominate a member here
2. Nominations close 18 July 2012
3. Results will be posted 22 July 2012
4. Voting will occur if there are more than 6 retailers and/or 6 suppliers nominated. Further communication will be sent out if this is the case.

Bookings are now open for the AACS Overseas Study Tour.

25 September – 1 October

Highlights

• 5 nights in a luxurious 5 star hotel in London
• 1 night in a luxurious 5 star hotel in Dublin
• 2 day Insight NACS Future of Convenience Conference
• 3 full day site visits
• Numerous dinner, travel and networking opportunities
• Exclusive AACS supplier presentations
• Private London Eye cocktail reception and VIP dinner
• Optional extension to visit Paris in a day
• Land only and flight inclusive packages available
• Land only from AU$10,810 per person

Land and Air packages based on Economy flights subject to available fares at the time of booking.

ex. Melbourne from AU$12,950
ex. Sydney from AU$13,050

Paris 1 day extension from AU$1,020 (including return Eurostar rail ticket)

Click Here to Book. Places are limited!

What is the Peter Jowett Industry Award?

The Peter Jowett Scholarship Award is a unique opportunity for NZACS members to challenge others in New Zealand and internationally in thinking about our industry.

Employees from Retailer and Supplier member companies are invited to select candidates between 21 and 36 years of age for this year’s competition (candidates must be no older than 36 years of age on 31st of May 2012) .

Participants are to submit a final draft PowerPoint presentation on the 2012 topic selected by representatives of all participating convenience industry associations. A one page / slide executive summary and a biography are also required.

Local judges will assess all submissions and select a maximum of 3 supplier member winners and 3 retailer member winners. These finalists will present their responses on the day of the annual NZACS Peter Jowett and Industry Awards Event on 15th August 2012 at The Crowne Plaza hotel in Auckland. The presentations are to be in PowerPoint format with a presentation time limit of 12 minutes.

The audience of NZACS members present will vote on the presentations and select the best supplier and best retailer presentation who will then travel to Las Vegas to take on international finalists between 7 – 10th October 2012 for the international award.

Some members, in the past, have run an internal competition for their staff as a way of selecting their candidates. This is an excellent development program for people working in the convenience channel.

The Topic for 2012

“Convenience retailing continues to evolve and change globally; what lessons or innovations can be applied in our market to enhance the convenience experience to increase profitable sales?”

Presentations are to be emailed to Roger Bull NZACS Chairman on roger@csbgroup.co.nz to be received no later than 30 June 2012. If you do intend to participating, please register your interest by 30 April 2012.

By registering you acknowledge that, should you win the Peter Jowett Scholarship Award Finals (Presentation), your employer will release you from work obligations to travel to Las Vegas from 7 – 10 October 2012.

Eligibility

Open to participants employed by NZACS members. Participants may not have previously received an NZACS Scholarship award/Peter Jowett Scholarship Award. Entrants must be between the ages of 21 and 36 years as at 31st May 2012.

There are two Categories of Award. One award will be given in recognition of an outstanding presentation by a Retailer within the channel and another award will recognise an outstanding presentation by a Supplier within our channel of trade.

Things to know

• Finalists will be required to deliver a 12-minute oral presentation on the afternoon of the NZACS Peter Jowett & Industry Awards event on 15th August 2012 at The Crowne Plaza hotel, Auckland.
• The finalists may use visual aids in this presentation.
• The Awards for both Retailer and Supplier will be announced at the Awards Dinner on the same day.
• Finalists will attend the NACS Convention in Las Vegas – NACS event registration, economy flight and accommodation only paid by NZACS.
• NZACS Members who attend the final presentations will vote with one vote per Member. These votes will determine the Retailer and Supplier Award Winners.

The criteria for selection at the Final will be:

• Presentation 30%
• Creativity 30%
• Relevance 40%

2011 winners Tim Fulton (Mobil) and Ian Blomfield (Frucor) had great success at the NACS Show in Chicago with Tim Fulton winning the Global Retailers Award.

We look forward to welcoming our 2012 entrants.

Register your intention to participate for the Peter Jowett competition

Venue: Remuera Golf Course

Costs: $100 per player, $60 per spectator, $500 for hole sponsorships. All charges exclude 15% GST Surcharge.

Format:
Ambrose with teams of 4. Teams will be made up for the day. Please let us know if players have changed or are not attending as we would like to make up the teams prior to the event. We will be including our charity hole so be sure to bring some cash because you could double your money or you could forfeit to The Starship Foundation – either way you are a winner!!

Agenda:
12:00 Registration
13:00 Tee off with shot gun start
17:00 Bar opens
18:15 Buffet dinner
19:00 Prize giving
21:30 Event concludes

Prizes and hole sponsorships:
We are looking for prizes and hole sponsorships. You could sponsor a hole and/or provide prizes for our competition holes. We can also make up team golf bags with product samples. This day provides a great opportunity to mix and mingle with the whose who of the Convenience industry so put your brand on display!

If you would like to provide provide prizes and product samples please contact kathy@researchrelay.co.nz

Please note: There is no power on the course. Should you need power please bring your own generator/power supply. If you would like to use the power from the club house, please bring your own extension cords. You can brand the holes with flags and banners. Pin flags are a standard dimension of approx. 12 inches wide. These need 3 eyelets on them and can be attached to the pins. Any course advertising must be no deeper than 200mm into the ground when placing. The set up of your sponsored hole can be done from 10:30 on the day of the tournament.

Dietary Requirements: Do any of your players or spectators have special dietary needs? If so please provide details via email to kathy@researchrelay.co.nz.

Should you have any changes to your players, please email Kathy before the day (kathy@researchrelay.co.nz). The most important information is the handicap as we mix up the players based on their handicap and the company they are from. Please have any last minute changes to Kathy by no later than 11 April 2012.

Registration closes: 30 March 2012

Register Now

Sponsor a Hole

The Starship Foundation raises funds so Starship Children’s Health can better care for New Zealand’s children. Donations are an extra to Government funding and provide a variety of initiatives such as new technology, vital research, boosted family support and preventative programmes.  As a charitable organisation, Starship Foundation exists through the generosity of the New Zealand public who lovingly donate money and/or time to assist in making Starship a world class medical facility.

Starship Children’s Health cares for nearly 120,000 children from around the country each year. New Zealanders can support these children by donating to the Starship Foundation on 09 307 4957 or on-line www.starship.org.nz/foundation.

The day culminated with a meal, prize giving, and a briefing from our nominated charity, Canteen, followed by great ‘networking’.  It was a real privilege to present Canteen with $6000 raised during the day.  Many thanks to the sponsors and players who
made the day a memorable one.

In August we held our Peter Jowett Scholarship finals.    Five presenters took part giving great presentations which were judged by their peers.  The winners were:

Tim Fulton – Exxon Mobil

Ian Blomfield – Frucor Beverages

Both finalists travelled to the NACS show in Chicago in October where they presented against contestants from around the world.   Both candidates acquitted themselves very well with Tim Fulton going on to win ‘The Global Retailer Section’.

NZACS Awards night followed the presentations.  The evening was well attended by 160 people representing both retailers and suppliers who enjoyed the networking over drinks and canapés followed by a meal accompanied by wine and beer.  Geoff Bryan was MC and our guest speaker, Sir Ray Avery, provided a very interesting account of growing up in orphanages in the UK, lessons learnt, and opportunities created.  David Singer presented high lights from our State of the Industry report which was published soon after.  The supplier Awards followed and, as always, are very competitive and a great credit to the winners.

The main focus for me and the committee has been the ‘Smoke-Free Environments (C&E) Amendment Act, or the hiding of Tobacco displays.  A lot of time has been taken up with submissions and meetings regards the legislation as well as presenting to the Select Committee.   I would like to record my thanks to Dave Hooker (Vice Chairman NZACS) for taking the lead roll during my overseas leave.

These efforts on behalf of our retailers culminated in my meeting with MOH personal and showing them how we believe the system will work in a retail environment.  A working model was set up at a Wellington Service Station.   The MOH now have a lot better understanding of how the Act should work and be administered.   We await the publishing of the MOH Guidelines in December 2011.

I would like to record my thanks to the NZACS Management Committee and Kathy for their deliberations and inputs over the past year.

Seasons Greetings to you all and your staff and families.

Roger Bull

Date: 16^th April 2012

Venue: Remuera Golf Course

Costs: $100 per player, $60 per spectator, $500 for hole sponsorships.  All charges exclude GST.

Format:  Everyone will be allocated to a team of 4

12:00  Registration

13:00  Shot gun start Tee off

17:00  Bar opens

18:15  Buffet dinner

19:00  Prize giving

21:30  Event concludes

Registrations will open in the new year.  We would love to have prizes for our various prize categories namely Best Golf Team, Nearest the Pin, Longest Drive, Most Golf Team, Charity Hole and Charity Silent Auction.  Also remember with the hole sponsorships, you are welcome to use branding and anything else you would like to represent your brand or company.

“I was lucky enough to win the Peter Jowett award for a retailer at the NZACS Industry Night and got to represent NZ at the 2011 NACS show in Chicago.

In short, going to the NACS show was an awesome experience – words can’t really do the event justice.  The sheer size and scale of the event was mind-blowing, with booths ranging from being the size of a small house complete with water slides and spa pools to booths that had complete working car washes.

The Peter Jowett competition was very competitive with countries all over the world competing and competitors taking it very seriously as you would imagine.  Unfortunately I didn’t get to see many of the other presentations as I was towards the end of the bill but after talking with people who did see them it sounded like there were quite a few really good ideas discussed meaning the future is looking bright for the convenience retail sector.

From left to right Exxon Mobil Vice President Retail Sales, Mark Shores, Tim Fulton and Global Retail Network Advisor Russ Ritenour

When all was said and done I was fortunate enough to the win the Global ‘Retailer’ Award, but really the show and the competition itself was just a fantastic opportunity to network and to meet people and see and hear about new ideas from all over the globe.

I would whole heartedly recommend entering the competition / going to the NACS show as it really is a fantastic opportunity and event.

I would also like to say a big thank you to Kathy and Roger from NZACS, Peter Glass and Ian Blomfield and Jacqueline Hickey for all their support and who all helped make the trip a memorable one.

There was a particular interest in the Summit given some of the challenging retail conditions around Australia as well as legislative pressures on areas affecting the industry e.g. new tobacco regulations, potential effects of the new carbon tax and retailers and suppliers seeking insights into new opportunities.

The Summit had the opportunity of hearing from Yasser Shahin, Peregrine Corporation, and operators of the very successful ‘On the Run’ stores as well as ‘Smokemart’ stores.
  Brett Barclay, him! research & consulting discussed the current trends in
Convenience as well as a view on what the next three years might bring.


Dr Sean Sands & Carla Ferraro, from the ACRS at Monash University  presented the findings of the research project commissioned by AACS into  “Convenience 2020” – what the industry might look like in 2020 as well as opportunities and challenges as seen by industry thought leaders as well as 1000 consumer insights into their ideal Convenience store offer of the
future.

Kosta Konomos and Leigh Shaw, Nielsen presented on the current state of the industry as well as demonstrated their ‘Virtual Store’ technology which can be of great benefit to both retailers and suppliers.

Our dinner guest and speaker was The Hon Christopher Pyne MP, member for Sturt in SA and Manager of Opposition Business in the Federal Parliament, who, after his speech engaged attendees in a lively question and answer session on current topical issues.

Mike Igoe from PayPoint in the UK presented a new perspective on services available for offer to Convenience stores and how to go about this with technology which is operating in over 23,000 stores in the UK 
Adrian Williams from IGD in the UK presented a wide ranging view of retailers and convenience stores globally with some terrific insights into current and emerging trends.

A Panel Discussion with Adrian Williams, Craig Sargent of Mars, and Chris Garlick of BP moderated by Brett Barclay,
discussed a raft of issues, opportunities and challenges from various perspectives.

The group then had the opportunity to visit a selection of the highly successful “On the Run” stores across Adelaide hosted by Yasser Shahin and the GM of the group, Michaela Webster. Some terrific insights were gained by all.


Attendees will receive a CD summarising key presentations over coming weeks at no cost.  Copies of the CD can be obtained from AACS for those who did not attend at a cost of AU$99 [incl GST].

NZ Comment:

The summit was very much research driven with great reports unfortunately not all relevant to New Zealnd as we have a different trading environment. Of particular interest was the statistics from the UK and Europe where Grocery are losing market share and Convienence is growing. Some major supermarkets are turning to a Convienence model for their High Street stores as well as traditional grocery retail.

Yasser Shahin of the Peregrine Corporation appears to have the right model for food offers within his stores.   He owns the
Franchise and therefore has full control.   Noodles in a box, Subway and his own coffee offer were some of his offers.   Well worth a look at his BP and Mobil sites of which he has 80 in Adelaide.

The Convienece Leaders summit for 2012 will be held in New Zealand.   Recommendations and help with overseas speakers would be welcomed by your management committee.  Please contact us for your suggestions.