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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW AACS CELEBRATES 30 YEARS In light of AACS turning 30, Convenience World caught up with CEO Jeff Rogut to discuss the evolving nature of the channel and its industry body. AACS has served as the voice of Australia’s convenience industry for 30 years. How and why was the association formed? At the time AACS was established in 1990, the convenience industry was undergoing change. New industry players, products and innovations were emerging and it was clear that perceptions of convenience stores were about to shift. Like the model for the US-based representative body, the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), AACS was formed to bring retailers and suppliers together for the benefit of the industry. Part of this was to establish the right platforms for the industry to more effectively work together in areas such as reporting on performance, undertaking research and coordinating lobbying efforts. Obviously, as the coronavirus pandemic plays out, the need to coordinate the industry’s efforts to ensure convenience stores remain recognised as an essential service is paramount. AACS enjoys strong ties with NACS to this day, collaborating on various initiatives, sharing information and resources, just as we do with other convenience representative organisations in the UK and South-East Asia. The industry has faced a lot of red tape and outside intervention over the years, especially with tobacco and fuel retailing. What have been the biggest obstacles for the industry and what role did AACS play in negotiating through these? Like all businesses and industries, COVID-19 has presented new challenges to convenience retailers and suppliers, as consumers change their behaviour to adapt to the new norm. Specifically, one of the challenges our industry has faced through the pandemic is supply of critical items such as grocery items, hygiene products, sanitisers, and the like. AACS effectively lobbied government to ensure convenience stores can remain open to serve consumers, being deemed an essential service, and we’re also in contact with government and bodies such as the ACCC to ensure stores receive fair availability of supply of these critical items, along with the major supermarkets. Lobbying is one of the most important ways in which AACS protects the interests of our members and the many small businesses that make up our industry. It’s an ongoing challenge to ensure the small business voice is heard amid the lobbying machines for the major supermarkets, groups like the Pharmacy Guild and other big business organisations with deep pockets. One of biggest challenges we’ve faced, and continue to face, is the rise of illegal tobacco in communities across the country, which spiked to new highs in 2019. It is worryingly easy for anyone, including minors, to buy illicit tobacco. Initially driven by plain packaging legislation and still fuelled by legal tobacco excise hikes, the criminals who supply the illegal market are profiting while honest retailers suffer. We continue to work with law enforcement bodies and legislators to crack down on illicit tobacco, and we’ve succeeded in elevating this crime in the public conscience. Our work to combat the proposed introduction of a ‘sugar tax’ and a ‘soft drink tax’ has also proven effective, with the Morrison government having indefinitely ruled out introducing such discriminatory taxes. More recently, we’ve been busy advocating for the industry on the issue of least-cost routing for tap- and-go payments, as it’s vital that transaction fees are kept as low as possible for convenience stores, as well as in the areas of franchising regulations and wage theft. But there’s more to be done, just as there’s more to be done in other key areas for our industry, such as securing the right for convenience stores to sell packaged alcohol and select pharmacy products, minimising the costs of doing business, and ensuring fuel thefts are treated with the appropriate severity. Our three pillars are advocacy, connection and knowledge, and these pillars will continue to drive the way we represent the convenience industry. What did a typical convenience store of 1990 look like? How would its range/services/shopping experience/ competition differ from a modern convenience store? Would such a model survive in today’s landscape? The core categories within convenience stores 30 years ago were similar to those of today. However, the ranges within those categories have changed markedly. And, of course, the store environment customers would have walked into then would be unrecognisable from today’s store experience. The industry has always been ambitious when it comes to food and beverages, but only in recent years, with a commitment to and investment in ongoing innovation, have food offers and quality improved. The fresh sandwich and bakery offerings in today’s stores were not around in 1990, and now stores offer quality, healthy take-home meal options as well. Then there’s coffee. Coffee itself has undergone a huge 12 CONVENIENCE WORLD MAY/JUN, 2020