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Smartsavings - Outstanding deals for store owners

News for  Smartsavers

July 2017

Energy costs are one of the biggest risks to convenience stores future success

A recent survey of over 250 convenience retailers has shown that energy costs are a threat to the future of their business. 46% of those retailers believe that they have an ‘unfair’ or ‘very unfair’ deal from their energy supplier. Complaints included – crippling rates, inflexible payment terms and long, extended contracts.

Smartsavings has successfully saved retailers £thousands over the years on their electricity contracts. Get in touch and see  what we can do.

Retailers are putting their business at risk by failing to get staff to check ID on tobacco and alcohol sales.

Of those stores surveyed, 84% have no written age verification policy; 47% have no warning signage and 79% have no documented training in place.

Smartsavings works with a national provider of compliance checking services. Get in touch to find out more. It could save your business or at the very least help you to avoid a punitive fine.

June 20

 

June 2017

The Pension Regulator starts to name & shame employers for failing to provide workplace pensions.

TPR issued over 5700 fines of £400 or more during the first quarter of 2017, an increase of 50% vs the previous quarter.

Are you compliant? Smartsavings works with AEclipse to provide competitive solutions for workplace pensions. Get in touch and see how inexpensive it can be. Don’t risk being fined.

May 2017

Inflation now at 2.7%, the highest level for 3 years

Rising inflation is only one of the factors driving up convenience retailers costs. Smartsavings can save you money on the everyday costs of doing business.

April 2017

ACS Local Shop report 2017 says only 54% of convenience retailers have an ATM

ATMs are proven to increase footfall, drive profitability and save the retailer money.

Smartsavings works with YourCash, one of the largest ATM providers in Europe. If you are one of the 46% without an ATM, contact Smartsavings about installing an ATM at no cost to you.

March 2017

ACS Crime report 2017 shows crime costs Convenience Retailers £232m pa

This includes £131m of theft by customers and staff. That equates to £5475 per store. Are you taking all the measures you should to protect your business against people stealing from you?

Smartsavings has some of the solutions you need, from alarms, cctv, cash safes, insurance and cash collection services.

February 2017

Retail operational costs are increasing faster now than at any time in the past 2 years

According to analysis by the Retail Economics / Retail Week cost base index, operational costs rose by 4% in Q4 2016, the biggest increase since 2014. The biggest contributor is increased Labour costs. With inflation forecast to hit 3% during the year, the outlook on costs is very challenging for retailers in 2017.

Smartsavings is a proven means of reducing costs through its 22 pre-negotiated deals for key operational services.

January 2017

Small retailers are facing big fines for not complying with their workplace pension auto enrolment responsibilities

In the 3rd quarter of 2016, the Pension Regulator issued 15,000 non-compliance notices to small businesses. This compares with 11,000 issued in the previous 3.5 years.

The regulator also imposed more than 3 times the number of fines of up to £10,000 per day on businesses, than it had done in the previous 3.5 years.

In 2017 over 700,000 small employers (0-30 employees) will have to start offering a workplace pension. Don’t risk your business by not complying. At Smartsavings we have a great, cost-effective solution for you.

 

 

December 2016

Smartsavings supplier is named Best SME Support company at the Talk of Manchester Business Awards

Congratulations to Midshire, our supplier of copiers, on winning this award.

National Living Wage set to increase by 4% to £7.50 per hour in April 2017

Since the introduction of the NLW earlier this year, retailers have been successfully using Smartsavings to reduce their business costs and in so doing, to mitigate the cost impact of the NLW.

Make sure you are using Smartsavings to reduce your costs as the cost to you of paying the NLW increases in 2017.

November 2016

Are you getting your business ready for the introduction of the new £1 coin in March 2017?

Our supplier Cashtec can help you to ensure that your cash counting/weighing equipment is able to deal with the new coin. Remember that there will be an overlap period of 6 months when you will have to accept both the current and new £1 coin.

This website provides lots of information about the new coin.

http://www.thenewpoundcoin.com

October 2016

Did you know that cash machine users spend 65% more in store that other shoppers?

Research shows that when you have a cash machine in store, users spend a larger proportion of this cash in store than other shoppers. Make sure you cash in by getting yourself a ‘free to use’ cash machine from YourCash through Smartsavings.

Energy prices are rising. Make sure you take steps to get the most favourable contact prices at your next renewal date.

The falling £ and the rising oil price mean that the cost of electricity is increasing. But did you know that the cost of electricity makes up less than half of the price you pay on your bill? The fastest rising element of cost are the government’s ‘Green Levies’ and these will increase each year.

Make sure you use the free Smartsavings’ expert energy contract renewal service to ensure that you get the best deal available.

Small businesses face fines of £22m for failing to comply with their pension auto-enrolment responsibilities.

According to analysis of the Pension Regulator’s data, around 55,000 small businesses have only a limited understanding of their duty to provide staff with a pension and are at risk of being fined for non-compliance.

Avoid the risk by using Smartsavings’ pension expert to put your workplace pension in place.

 

Full page article on how Smartsavings can help you to reduce energy costs in Londis News

If you haven’t seen the article in the October issue of Londis News. Here it is

londis-news_energy-article_2016

Call Smartsavings on 07541 654025 or e-mail on enquiries@smartsaving.co.uk to find out more.

 

September 2016

Did you read the feature on Smartsavings in the 19/08/16 issue of Budgens Retailer News?

If not, here it is

retailer-news-01-19-08-2016

Don’t forget to complete the Budgens on line survey about Smartsavings services that you are interested in receiving more information about.

Have you seen the new Smartsavings Benefits guide?

To help you select the most effective services for your business, use our guide to show you what the benefits could be. Find it here

smartsavings-benefits-guide-sept-2016

Are you following Smartsavings on Twitter yet?

Use Twitter to keep up with the latest news from Smartsavings and our suppliers. Find us @smartsavings1.

It couldn’t be easier to follow us using your smartphone and keep up to date with the different ways to make savings using Smartsavings.

August 2016

Pension Auto Enrolment

We have a new deal launching soon which offers a hassle free solution to Auto Enrolment.

June 2016

Smartsavings LED

Smartsavings LED lighting solutions are providing retailers with excellent savings on energy bills and improving store lighting.

National Living Wage

The Smartsavings team are already working with retailers to find ways to reduce costs and help them lessen the impact of paying staff the National Living Wage. Contact us now or visit the deals page to see how we can help you.

Posted March 2016

 

**New Smartsavings phone number**

07541 654025

The Smartsavings team are here to help, just give us a call if you need any information.

Important Insurance Update:

Is your cover adequate for the new Food Information Regulation?

The new Food Information Regulation comes into force on 13th December and will affect every Food Business Operator (FBO) preparing their own food products for resale.

The main purpose of the act is to protect allergy sufferers from eating products harmful to them. There are also some potentially serious consequences for retailers not complying with the Act.

If you are affected by this then please read the attached advisory bulletin for more information.

If you have any further queries please contact the Smartsavings Team directly on 01275 390511. Posted 10/11/2014

 

Pest Control

Don’t let pests be a pest….for complete peace of mind and a safe and protected environment have a look at our pest control offer on the deals page today.

From as little as £29 per quarter for Londis stores or £55 per quarter for Budgens stores, you can be safe in the knowledge that any pests your store may have are under control.

Call the Smartsavings Team on 01275 390511 for more information. Posted 22/09/2014

Waste Management

We could save you ££££ on your waste collections.

Our supplier, 1st Waste Management, offers general waste collection from as little as £6.50 per collection and from just £4.50 per collection for dry mixed recyclate.

If you are interested in getting a free quote for your waste removal needs please contact us today on 01275 390511. Posted 18/08/2014

Want to save money on your Energy Bills?

Smartsavings gives you access to an impartial energy broker who will use his contacts with the ‘Big 6’ energy suppliers to try to beat your current renewal quote.

This is a free, no obligation service and once you have used The Bottom Line, they will contact you prior to any subsequent renewal dates to offer to optimise your utility charges again. This means you will never miss a renewal and can rest assured that your energy costs are being managed effectively.

If your current contract is coming close to its renewal, check out the Energy Contract deal on the deals page or contact us directly on 01275 390511. Posted 16/07/2014

Special Offer – Scottish Certificate for Personal License Holders

Our partner, ESL Services, is offering Smartsavings customers a special price of just £90 per candidate for this qualification which is needed to apply for your personal license to sell or authorise the sale of alcohol in Scotland. Click here for more details of the offer and how to make a booking. Posted 14/04/2014

Balers – company name change and Special Offer!

Our balers supplier has recently changed their company name from Miltek to QCR Recycling equipment. They have also put together a fantastic special offer exclusively for Smartsavings customers on their 2 most popular products. If you are interested in saving money on your waste then take a closer look at the Offer Details available for a limited time only. Posted 08/04/2014

Further Price Reductions on Telecoms Deal

Great news – we have managed to negotiate an even better telecoms deal with our partners, Global 4, which is now available for all stores. You can now get all your local and national calls for just £7.99 per month and calls to mobiles at just 3.0 pence per minute. All of these amazing offers still come with our fantastic flexible 30 day rolling contract so for more information or to sign up today, visit the Telecoms deal page on the Smartsavings website. Posted 10/03/2014

Smart New Year….Smart New Look

Welcome to the new look Smartsavings website and what an improvement it is! What started out as a quick refresh has led to a complete overhaul both visually and in terms of content.

We originally set ourselves two goals; simplifying the way the website operates and improving communication of the deals to new and returning customers. We’re confident that the new site delivers both , but do tell us what you think by either using the contact us page, emailing us at enquiries@smartsavings.co.uk or simply pick up the phone 01275 390511. Posted 16/01/2014

Londis Region 4 Sales Manager Meeting – Bristol

This was a fantastic opportunity to meet the Region 4 sales team and present Smartsavings to them with the aim of discussing how they can help support the scheme. We had a lively debate about how best to communicate Smartsavings to retailers from which we took away a number of actions. The meeting was really positive and thanks again to Paul Bruen for inviting us to be part of it and to all the team for their input. Posted 20/12/2013

Londis Region 4 Retailer Meeting – Birmingham

Following on from our successful cluster meeting in October, we were asked by Kevin Hoare and Paul Bruen to attend this meeting in Birmingham last week. We were pleased to get some really positive feedback from the retailers about the savings they were making having taken up some of our Smartsavings deals. We also came away with a number of requests for deals on new services that we have begun working on with the aim of launching new deals over the coming months wherever feasible. Posted 19/11/2013

Londis Retailer Cluster Meeting – Exeter

The Smartsavings team are always keen to get some face to face time with retailers and so we were delighted to be invited by Kalvin Beaulah and Mike Howe to meet with 25 Londis retailers from the South West to present the scheme to them. Many of the attendees were already familiar with Smartsavings and the level of interest throughout the meeting was extremely positive. As always, we received some very useful feedback about the scheme and would like to take this opportunity to thank all the retailers for their input. Posted 25/10/2013

Londis Region 2 Sales Meeting

We were given the opportunity to attend the Londis Region 2 Sales Team meeting in September and to present to the team about what Smartsavings could offer their stores. The meeting was a real success and we were extremely pleased with the level of engagement that the team displayed and their enthusiasm for the Smartsavings service. We received some valuable feedback about ways to help encourage stores to see the value of the service and will be putting some of these ideas into place over the coming weeks and months. Posted 01/10/2013

The Main Event Trade Shows

We were delighted to attend the Main Event Trade Shows last week in Manchester and Sandown. It was great to get the opportunity to speak to lots of retailers and to understand what some of the key cost issues are for stores in the current climate. This gave us the perfect platform to  demonstrate how Smartsavings can help reduce these costs and we picked up lots of new enquiries and really enjoyed getting your feedback and thoughts on the scheme so far. Posted 11/07/13

Budgens & Londis Magazine

Have a look at the March issues of the Budgens and Londis magazines for a fantastic article about the introduction of Smartsavings to the Musgrave business. The article has been put together by Finance Director Julie Wirth and includes quotes from Kash Jaffar of Budgens and from our very own Managing Director, Richard Beale. There is a detailed summary of the services available and how to access them along with some great commentary on why Musgrave have decided to introduce the scheme and how their stores can benefit. Posted 11/04/13

Press Release

Follow the link below for another great article about the Musgrave and Smartsavings partnership. The article, featured in The Grocer, includes a quote from Julie Wirth and from a prominent Musgraves retailer:

http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/companies/symbols-and-buying-groups/musgrave/smartsavings-for-budgens-and-londis-stores/237553.article

Posted 21/03/13

Smartsavings will be at Budgens conference

The Smartsavings team are delighted to have been invited to attend the Budgens conference in St Andrews on the 21st March and are busy preparing for the day and hoping that the snow is not going to be too deep! We are looking forward to some great interaction with the retailers on the day and hope to see you there so we can demonstrate what Smartsavings can do for you. Posted 18/03/13

Press Release

There has been some great press around about the partnership between Musgrave and Smartsavings. Check out the following link to see an article in The Retail Bulletin by Julie Wirth, finance director of Budgens and Londis:

http://www.theretailbulletin.com/news/budgens_londis_retailers_to_benefit_from_new_savings_package_13-03-13/

Posted 13/03/13

Store sign-ups

Since the launch of Smartsavings to Londis stores back in February we have received lots of telephone and email enquiries from stores requesting more information on our deals. A number of stores have already signed-up to some of those deals and are now benefitting from reduced costs and great service from our suppliers. Check back here for some feedback from stores about their experience with Smartsavings – coming soon! Posted 20/2/13

Smartsavings and Londis take-off at Heathrow

We were invited to attend the Londis retailers’ conference at the Hilton Heathrow Terminal 5 on the 7th February where we launched Smartsavings to the 350 retailers who attended. It was a great day and our demonstrations of the website and chats with retailers were well received and generated lots of interest in the scheme. Smartsavings was also promoted directly to the assembled retailers during their conference presentations by Sales Director Paul Courtney and Arjan Mehr, Chairman of the NRC as a fantastic opportunity for stores to help control their costs and save time and money. Thanks to both for getting behind Smartsavings. Posted 14/2/13

Smartsavings goes back to school

We are currently in talks with providers within the education sector about launching a tailor-made Smartsavings scheme for them. More and more schools are now faced with the responsibility of procuring their own goods and services independently and we believe that Smartsavings could be the answer. Watch this space! Posted 11/2/13

Need some help?

Our tips and links section has now gone live for our clients. If you are looking for help and advice on clever ways to save money or advice on where to go for further information then take a look. We welcome any feedback or suggestions for any specific areas you would like to see covered here. Just drop us a line with your thoughts. Posted 13/2/13

What’s new?

The Smartsavings team are always working hard to ensure that we not only have the best current deals, but that we are also constantly reviewing what our clients want and launching new and exciting deals for our stores to take advantage of. In the coming weeks we will be launching deals for car leasing, car/tyre servicing, hotels, mobile broadband, stationary and more. Make sure you keep on checking back to see what’s new so that you can take advantage straight away. Posted 15/2/13

Welcome to our new website

We are very pleased to announce the launch of our fantastic new Smartsavings website. Along with a new look we have included some features that we hope will make visiting the site a quicker, easier and more interactive experience. Please take the time to have a look and drop us a line if you have any suggestions. Keep checking back as we will be adding lots more content and new deals over the coming weeks. Posted 7/2/13

Musgrave

A very warm welcome to The Musgrave Group who have now joined Smartsavings. As our newest Smartsavings client, Musgrave’s will be bringing 191 Budgens stores and just under 2,000 Londis stores to the scheme. This is an extremely exciting time in the continuing development of Smartsavings and we are very pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Musgrave team and their Budgens and Londis retail colleagues. Posted 7/2/13

Smartsavings hits 4,000 stores

With the launch of The Musgrave Group, Smartsavings has now reached the 4,000 store mark giving us just under 10% coverage of all convenience retail stores across mainland Britain. This means that over 4,000 stores now have direct access to our deals and services via the scheme. This is fantastic news and gives us even more buying power to ensure that we continue to leverage the best deals for our clients and help to save them even more money and time. Posted 7/2/13

Smartsavings spend reaches £7.5m

The total spend through Smartsavings has now exceeded £7.5m per annum. We are delighted that we have been able to directly influence such a significant amount of spend  and that the scheme continues to grow all the time. With more and more money going through Smartsavings we are able to negotiate better and better deals giving everyone with access to the scheme fantastic savings and service. Posted 7/2/13

I’m a SmartSaver…

“Smartsavings improved my waste collection charges by 40%”
“I recommend Smartsavings to all retailers”
“Smartsavings showed a substantial saving on my current scheme”
“Really pleased with the results and there was no hassle on the install. Great result all round”
“The Smartsavings team has been really helpful”

Smartsavings

Telephone: 07541 654025
Email: enquiries@smartsavings.co.uk

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