From today’s Herald, Police and Licensing Standard Officers conducted a series of test purchases in East Renfrewshire. To my knowledge it is the first time test purchases to check CHALLENGE 25 has been conducted.

They used an 18 year old and of the 42 visits, 20 servers failed to ask for ID. They then followed this up with a 16 year old completing a test purchase and as a result ASDA in Newton Mearns had its licence suspended.

At GNE Consultancy, we supply a full range of alcohol licensing training, services and support to help you through the potential minefield of alcohol retailing.

What can you learn?

You must have a CHALLENGE 25 Policy.  This policy should be communicated to all staff – better still get then to sign the training sheet.  Staff must also be aware of what constitutes acceptable identification.

How can GNE Consultancy help protect you?

CHALLENGE 25 POLICY
We can send you a policy and a training sheet on request by e-mail. We will need to check to ensure the policy is tailored to you so we ask you e-mail us and then we can then give you a call.

WORKBOOKS
To make sure your staff are fully trained, you might need some alcohol staff training workbooks to complete your training. These have been updated in line with the new legislation in October 2011.

SCPLH
Perhaps the answer is to up skill  your workforce by having more people as SCPLH holders (Scottish Certificate for Personal Licence Holders).

If you were to have your Premises Licence called in for a review the the question will be:

“How did you manage Challenge 25 in your establishment?”

We can provide you with the tools to let you answer this question with confidence.  Contact us today.

Are you happy you have enough personal licence holders?  If you are not sure how to check drop us a line and we will discuss options that may be available to you.

There is Scottish Government Funding available to support you train staff. This is either ILA Scotland or Flexible Training Opportunities.

Let us know how we can help.  Don’t get caught out like ASDA.

Gordon Emslie, a retail specialist at GNE Consultancy in Falkirk, said he expected a bitter price war to commence, but warned that shoppers were unlikely to see a return to the low supermarket prices of 2008.

“It is going to be a very competitive year for food retailing,” he said. “Tesco will have a lot of work to do to embed the price drop they have already done – the message from chief executive Philip Clarke yesterday was that that really hadn’t got through.

“Before Thursday, the boards of Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda will have had an inkling of what was coming and they will either have a war chest ready to cover price cuts – or will have been looking at how they can maintain their market share.”

He added: “I think there will be some repositioning, but I don’t think we’ll see food prices revert to what they were three years ago – due to a high demand for commodities from the Middle East pushing costs higher.”

It is believed that in addition to lower prices, the superstores will also be forced to up their game in terms of customer service and the overall shopping experience, in a bid to win customers.

“Asda has won in terms of the price message – that is something they have been hammering home for some time,” said John Ibbotson, managing director of retail consultancy Retail Vision. “On the other hand, while people never see Sainsbury’s as cheap, they do see it as a good customer experience. Tesco is going to need to invest in its stores and also in things such as coupons, to draw customers back in. The other supermarkets will also need to make sure they stay in the game.”

Looking for some industry insight into your retail business?  Why not get in touch?

Gordon Emslie, a retail specialist at GNE Consultancy in Falkirk, said Mr Clarke had inherited a business facing a tough retail environment, as shoppers looked to save as much cash as possible amid squeezed budgets. Soaring petrol prices and utility bills have forced consumers to tighten their belts, with wages failing to keep pace with the rate of inflation.

But Mr Emslie warned Tesco may have lost its way in the battle for market share. “I think Tesco has had a challenge in trying to attack Asda on the Price Drop front,” he said.

“Prices went up quite steeply in the early part of last year, so when they began their moves to reduce them, people felt it was a bit of a con. There is a bit of a disconnect with their customers at the moment – I don’t think anyone’s sure at the moment who a Tesco customer is – and that’s the problem when a company is as successful as they have been, churning out increased like-for-like profits every year.

“I think a lot of people are shopping more in their local shops. They have £30 in their pocket and they feel it’s easier to shop in a convenience store where they buy what they need, rather than going to a large supermarket and being tempted by other things.

“Some of Tesco’s stores have just got too big and I think that some rivals, like Asda, have been just a little bit sharper on the internet shopping front.”

He added: “It is not a comfortable time for the new chief executive to have to report a profit warning on his first watch.”

Looking for some industry insight into your retail business?  Why not get in touch?