Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association (ACAPMA) and Convenience World have announced a five-year partnership to enhance the vitality of retail within the small format petrolconvenience retail channel via fact-based advocacy and the provision of knowledge. Convenience World spoke to ACAPMA CEO Mark McKenzie about the objectives for the partnership, aligning the collective sectors, and providing a voice for industry advocacy.
Why are ACAPMA and Convenience World forming a strategic partnership in 2022?
Specifically, this is about creating an authoritative industry voice for the convenience and fuel retail industry in Australia, one that places equal emphasis on petrol and convenience issues, largely recognising the evolving nature of the fuel retail sector over the years.
In the wake of the economic destruction caused by Covid-19 over the past two years, now’s the time to advance a cohesive advocacy that embraces both sides of the petrol and convenience sector with equal force. That’s specifically what this partnership will deliver over the next five years.
The partnership involves a framework comprising three main elements: industry leadership, knowledge and networking, and research.
The partnership will involve the establishment of the National Petrol and Convenience Retail Council, comprising representatives of fuel retail, convenience retail, and suppliers. This council will discuss current and emerging issues and will set the agenda to guide ACAPMA’s natural advocacy on relevant industry issues.
The second element will comprise the conduct of an annual program of knowledge and networking forums to promote discussion and share insights about the operation of the industry as well as creating meaningful space for business dialogue between participants.
And the final element will build on ACAPMA’s two-yearly monitor of fuel consumer attitudes by utilising strategic research about the changing nature of convenience retail, and the big retail trends and legislative developments that are likely to reshape the industry in the years ahead.
How is the partnership addressing the needs of a changing market?
From the perspective of petrol retailers, this partnership brings to bear industry leadership and knowledge on the convenience element of the sector, bringing up-to-date market insights and ensuring that advocacy is meeting the needs of both sides of the business, both the fuel and the convenience.
For first time convenience retailers joining the member base, it provides an opportunity to access the deep knowledge and advocacy expertise of ACAPMA guided by the relationship and the national dialogue that is continually managed by Convenience World. And so, ACAPMA can support that group with compliance support services, training, development services and general information services, and then via the partnership with Convenience World we’ll be able to provide that information in a readily digestible format.
From the perspective of convenience suppliers, this provides an opportunity to discuss the strategic issues that are constraining the industry, or the issues that could be addressed to enhance the economic vitality of the industry, as well as providing an opportunity through the knowledge and networking forums to engage in genuine dialogue with fuel retail businesses in a relaxed atmosphere.
Read the interview in full in the November-December issue of Convenience World.
