Association of Convenience Stores Event

I met my constituent from ONE Stop Darlaston (above) which is a thriving Post Office. It is run by Peter and Pam and there are always customers using the Post Office and Store. 

I attended the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) Event in Parliament on Tuesday, 17 October, to celebrate the stores, people, and services of our convenience sector. The event was sponsored by Bill Esterson MP. Small Business Minister, Kevin Hollinrake, gave a speech at the event and presented the winner of the Raj Aggarwal Trophy for outstanding community retailing to Linda Williams of Broadway Convenience. 

Convenience stores provide local, secure and flexible jobs to over 437,000 people and, as staff shortages ease, retailers are employing more people for more hours. The convenience sector contributed over £10.6bn in Gross Value Added (GVA) and over £9.1bn in taxes in 2023, and stores invested £646 million in their businesses over the past year. 

Vince Malone and Fiona Malone  from Tenby Post Office and Premier Express pictured (l). At the event, the ACS presented ‘The 2023 Local Shop Report‘, which revealed the significant investments that convenience retailers are making to provide a wider range of services to their customers and to make a positive contribution to their communities. With more products and stores going viral over the last year, there has been a clear shift towards activity on platforms like Facebook, X (Twitter) and TikTok to engage with customers. This could be linked to the changing profile of convenience store owners, which is becoming younger, including more women, and more likely to include first-time investors coming into the sector, as well as established family businesses.