Paisley KeyStore retailer Jack Singh has relocated his long-established store to a purpose-built site just a few metres away.
The well-known family business, which has served its local community in the west end of the Renfrewshire town for over 25 years, has more than doubled in size of its store to 2,000sqft following a complete refit of the former restaurant building.
Singh, who has invested over £500,000 in the project, explained why the business has relocated. “Renfrewshire Council was regenerating the west end of Paisley as part of a regeneration masterplan and creating new social housing so that forced the move.
“It was a no-brainer for us to accept the offer to move as we had no capacity to expand the store at that site and we had reached the stage where we wanted to modernise and introduce new services yet remain in the same area – and I’m delighted to say that not only have our existing customers followed us just a few yards along the road, we’re getting a lot of new business too.”
Singh said that once the new premises had been stripped back there was a “blank canvas” to work with. He said: “It was really exciting to be in that position to effectively start from scratch and design the store the way we wanted it – and also having so much more space, moving from 800sqft, we were able to include services we previously couldn’t and extend areas such as fresh and chilled.
“We worked closely with Robert Paton, our business development manager at JW Filshill, and he was fantastic – Robert’s a former retailer himself so he’s seen it from both sides of the fence and really helped us understand how to make best use of the space.
“He had his ideas, we had our ideas, and together we made it work – although that’s not to say we didn’t change tack along the way as the development progressed. We changed quite a lot, actually, from where we saw it going originally, but I’m 100% delighted with the outcome.”
Singh, who has also owned a KeyStore in Giffnock, near Glasgow, since 2005, joked: “It’s been an A to Z of change, from a new roof, lighting and flooring to extending space for chilled and frozen, bringing in Costa coffee, a Tango Blast machine and putting in a beer cave which we believe may be one of the biggest in Scotland, if not the biggest.
“I’m grateful to all the support from Robert and the Filshill team and my cousin, Garry, who also helped me. It’s a fantastic store and we couldn’t have wished for a better outcome.”
He added, “Our customers are amazed, and many are saying they can’t believe how big our range is now. We’ve always been rooted in the community here in the west end of Paisley so for our customers to remain so loyal and come with us on this journey is the best thing about relocating our store.
“We’re also supporting local suppliers including our butcher Graeme’s Butchers, another long-established business that our customers know.”
Singh expects to welcome even more customers in the future as part of the regeneration of the area includes the creation of hundreds of flats in houses by the council with its housing association partner Sanctuary Scotland.
He added, “We started work on the new shop in January, so it’s been quite a long haul, and it was important to make sure we got it right. There was no question that KeyStore would continue to be our partner – the service and availability we get from Filshill is the superb – the real deal – and an outstanding overall package.”
Craig Brown, chief sales and marketing officer at JW Filshill, said, “We’d like to congratulate Jack on the opening of his best-in-class convenience store in Paisley. Our team worked in partnership with Jack to create a store that has exceeded his expectations – this is a model store that should be a benchmark for other retailers to aspire to.
“With such strong and experienced regional development teams in place, we are ideally placed to partner with retailers who choose KeyStore as the best solution for achieving increased profit and margin, working with us to stimulate growth for our brand and customers in a competitive convenience marketplace.”
Filshill, one of Scotland’s oldest independent food and drink wholesalers which marks its 150th anniversary in 2025, relocated from Hillington to Westway Park near Glasgow Airport in March 2023.
The government has on Wednesday announced its acceptance of the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) recommendations on the rates of the National Minimum Wage (NMW), including the National Living Wage (NLW).
The rates which will apply from 1 April 2025 are as follows:
NMW Rate
Increase (£)
Percentage increase
National Living Wage (21 and over)
£12.21
£0.77
6.7
18-20 Year Old Rate
£10.00
£1.40
16.3
16-17 Year Old Rate
£7.55
£1.15
18.0
Apprentice Rate
£7.55
£1.15
18.0
Accommodation Offset
£10.66
£0.67
6.7
The recommended NLW rate is expected to equal two-thirds of median earnings and to have the highest real value in the history of the UK’s minimum wage. The increase in the 18-20 Year Old Rate narrows the gap between that and the NLW, in anticipation of the adult rate being extended to 18 year olds in future years.
“The government have been clear about their ambitions for the National Minimum Wage and its importance in supporting workers’ living standards. At the same time, employers have had to deal with the adult rate rising over 20 per cent in two years, and the challenges that has created alongside other pressures to their cost base,” Baroness Philippa Stroud, chair of the LPC, said.
“It is our job to balance these considerations, ensuring the NLW provides a fair wage for the lowest-paid workers while taking account of economic factors. These rates secure a real-terms pay increase for the lowest-paid workers. Young workers will see substantial increases in their pay floor, making up some of the ground lost against the adult rate over time.”
Stroud admitted that the data show some signs of employers finding it harder to adapt to minimum wage increases.
“The tightening of the labour market since the pandemic has unwound, but the overall picture is similar to 2019. The economy is expected to grow over the next year, although productivity growth remains subdued,” she noted.
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:
Good work and fair wages are in the interest of British business as much as British workers. This government is changing people’s lives for the better because we know that investing in the workforce leads to better productivity, better resilience and ultimately a stronger economy primed for growth.
The recommended increase in the 16-17 Year Old Rate restores that rate to its original value relative to the adult minimum wage. In line with previous recommendations, the Apprentice Rate will remain equal to the 16-17 Year Old Rate.
SPAR UK has announced the appointment of Michael Fletcher as its new managing director.
Fletcher spent 22 years at Tesco plc, where he held numerous senior commercial roles in the UK, Ireland and Asia. He joined Co-op Retail in 2013 where he held the position of chief commercial officer before moving on to become CEO of Nisa Wholesale, a role he held until 2022.
Since leaving Nisa, Fletcher has taken on several non-executive director and board advisory roles. He is also the founder and chief executive of Sleet Brush Limited, where he focuses on designing and implementing innovative solutions to complex retail and wholesale challenges.
“Michael has outstanding credentials in commercial, retail and FMCG sectors, with experience across various trading environments,” Nick Bunker, non-executive chair, SPAR Food Distributors Ltd, said.
“His professional capabilities and high standards consistently drive excellent business performance and operational resilience. We are delighted with his appointment and look forward his lasting and positive contribution to the SPAR business.”
Fletcher added: “SPAR is a globally recognised and respected brand, and I am thrilled to join the team. I look forward to supporting the ongoing strengthening and development of the SPAR proposition in the UK.”
October saw shop prices fall marginally further into deflation for the third consecutive month with food inflation eased, particularly for meat, fish and tea along with chocolate and sweets as retailers treated customers to spooky season deals, shows industry data released today (29).
According to British Retail Consortium (BRC), shop price deflation was at 0.8 per cent in October, down from deflation of 0.6 per cent in the previous month. This is below the 3-month average rate of -0.6 per cent. Shop price annual growth was at its lowest rate since August 2021.
Food inflation slowed to 1.9 per cent in October, down from 2.3% in September. This is above the 3-month average rate of 2.1 per cent . The annual rate continues to ease in this category and inflation remained at its lowest rate since November 2021.
Fresh Food inflation decelerated in October, to 1.0 per cent , down from 1.5 per cent in September. This is below the 3-month average rate of 1.2 per cent . Inflation was its lowest since October 2021.
Ambient Food inflation decelerated to 3.1 per cent in October, down from 3.3 per cent in September. This is below the 3-month average rate of 3.3 per cent and remained at its lowest since March 2022.
Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive of the BRC, said, “October saw shop prices fall marginally further into deflation for the third consecutive month. Food inflation eased, particularly for meat, fish and tea as well as chocolate and sweets as retailers treated customers to spooky season deals. In non-food, discounting meant prices fell for electricals such as mobile phones, and DIY as retailers capitalised on the recent pick-up in the housing market.
“With fashion sales finally turning a corner this Autumn, prices edged up slightly for the first time since January as retailers started to unwind the heavy discounting seen over the past year.”
“Households will welcome the continued easing of price inflation, but this downward trajectory is vulnerable to ongoing geopolitical tensions, the impact of climate change on food supplies, and costs from planned and trailed Government regulation. Retail is already paying more than its fair share of taxes compared to other industries.
“The Chancellor using tomorrow’s Budget to introduce a Retail Rates Corrector, a 20 per cent downwards adjustment, to the business rates bills of all retail properties will allow retailers to continue to offer the best possible prices to customers while also opening shops, protecting jobs and unlocking investment.”
Mike Watkins, Head of Retailer and Business Insight, NielsenIQ, said, “Inflation in the food supply chain continues to ease and this helped slow the upward pressure of shop price inflation in October, however other cost pressures remain.
“Consumers remain uncertain about when and where to spend and with Christmas promotions now kicking in, competition for discretionary spend will intensify in both food and non-food retailing.”
PayPoint has announced a new partnership with Leeds Credit Union (‘LCU’), a financial cooperative with 37,000 members, enabling them access to its CashOut service, effective immediately.
The partnership will mean that LCU customers can access their cash and savings across any of PayPoint’s UK network of 29,000 retailer partners. This represents an unprecedented growth in accessibility and the first partnership of its kind for LCU. Historically customers have needed to visit one of LCU’s four branches to withdraw money.
Leeds Credit Union provides straightforward, affordable financial services. As a mutual there are no shareholders, so it is owned by its members and always has the interests of the members at the heart of everything it does. The credit union prides itself on providing members with the most appropriate services based on their circumstances.
“Our partnership with Leeds Credit Union will enable its customers to access their funds more easily than ever before," said Jo Toolan, Managing Director of Payments at PayPoint. "We’re committed to pursuing these kinds of partnerships, which enable credit unions to offer a more competitive and technologically advanced service, while simultaneously making the lives of customers that little bit easier through enhanced access.”
Greg Potter, Head of Marketing & Member Experience at Leeds Credit Union, said: “Increasingly, we’re looking at ways that we can apply technological solutions and partnerships to add value to the experience of our members using Leeds Credit Union. This partnership is demonstrative of our determination to grow in their best interests and will make access to funds something that can be done at any of a number of PayPoint locations in the UK.”
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A Philip Morris logo is pictured on a factory in Serrieres near Neuchatel, Switzerland December 8, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
Marlboro-maker Philip Morris said Tuesday it planned to close down its two production sites in Germany, citing falling demand for cigarettes among Europeans.
"In recent years, demand for cigarettes in Europe has fallen significantly," the company said in a statement, adding that it saw the same trend for roll-your-own tobacco.
"This trend is expected to continue in the coming years," the company said.
Many smokers have been shifting to e-cigarettes, or vapes, and heated-tobacco devices.
Philip Morris employs 372 workers at its factories in Berlin and Dresden. Both sites are scheduled for closure next year.
The tobacco giant said it would begin discussions with labour representatives to find "fair and socially responsible solutions" for staff.