After working diligently throughout 2014 to raise awareness of the local retailing sector among Scotland’s politicians, the SGF got off to a flyer this year with a three-day at the Scottish Parliament, exhibition, which was co-hosted by SLR.
By Kevin Scott
Over a three day period in early January the Scottish Grocers’ Federation and SLR teamed up to host an exhibition in the Scottish Parliament, highlighting the role that local convenience stores play in their communities, both in terms of engagement, and in economic terms.
In the end, over 80 Members of the Scottish Parliament stopped by the exhibition, and there was a genuine desire to stand up for small local stores in the face of increasingly aggressive moves by supermarkets and the discounters.
It wasn’t just constituency and regional MSPs who were keen to discuss the matter either; the most senior members of Government in Scotland stopped by, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, her predecessor Alex Salmond, and Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy.
The First Minister stopped by the stand on a number of occasions and said she was “determined to work with SGF and its members on the issues affecting the sector”.
Held in the Member’s Lobby at Holyrood over the course of the three days ‘The Contribution of Independent Convenience Stores to Scotland’s Communities’ exhibition saw a number of leading retailers in Scotland man the stand, ably assisted by the SGF’s Public Affairs Manager, John Lee.
Gordon MacDonald MSP, who sponsored the event, comments: “Convenience stores are one of the corner stones of a community in the same way as the primary school, the community centre, the post office and the pub. Their presence in a village, town or in a neighbourhood helps to support that community with research highlighting that locally owned community shops spend more with local suppliers and services in addition to the employment they provide.”
“The reaction from the members was hugely positive. To have over 80 MSPs take time out of their schedules to learn more about the role their local store plays in their community was heartening to witness. Many that SLR spoke to were on first name terms with their own retailers, while we were surprised at how many MSPs actually had a background in convenience retailing! A special mention must go to Abdul Majid, President of the SGF and John Lee, Public Affairs Manager who worked tirelessly to ensure this exhibition took place. Their member should be delighted with the effort they have gone to.
John Lee said: “The response we got from MSPs was overwhelming and exhibition has exceeded our expectations – the key to its success was involving our retail members. MSPs have heard directly from retailers about the strengths of our sector and also the challenges it’s facing. It has also been a highly effective collaboration with SLR, which we will build on in the future.”
