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STORE EQUIPMENT MEET RETAIL’S NEW LOCKERS AND ROLLERS Factors including Covid, the need for greater sustainability and the growing demand for Australian made products have led to a surge in innovation and product development. By Peter Howard. T his time last year, after bushfires raged across Australia, our physical landscape had changed beyond recognition. Today, it’s the turn of our retail landscape, changed in response to the threat of a raging pandemic, as businesses reacted, adapted and evolved to survive. The pandemic wasn’t the only challenge driving change in the retail landscape. Other factors, including the need for greater sustainability, and the growing demand for Australian-made products, have led to a surge in innovation and product development. The result of all this change has been the emergence of what economists believe is a new normal. Grocery shoppers have adopted new habits, stores have adopted new processes, and retailers have embraced new products and equipment to satisfy the demand for safety, sustainability and a secure local supply. In this store equipment review, we look at some of those products and innovations and hear from the people working behind the scenes to offer retailers solutions suited to today’s changing retail landscape. 54 CONVENIENCE WORLD JAN/FEB, 2021