NSW Pollies Ignore Small Retailers

AACS Letter to Local MP Downlaod

Draft Letter to Local MP Download

By David Killeen, Executive Director, AACS 

It seems that NSW politicians are totally out of touch with the problems that beset small retailers who, on a daily basis, attempt to make a living and employ people in their constituencies. The recent changes to the NSW tobacco legislation are a good example. Tobacco displays will re reduced to just one square metre from 2009. The Association has written to all NSW members in marginal seats asking them to reconsider the matter.

I urge every NSW retailer who may be affected by the new regulations to wrote to their local member. You can download a draft letter from the link above.

Despite numerous attempts with the various Ministers and advisers passing through the swing doors of NSW political office recently, and despite assurances from them that the views of small retailers would be taken account of before legislation was introduced, the Bill has become an Act which contains all that is required to put many small retailers out of business.

The small retailers represented by AACS  actually employ very few people on a shift. Often only one person is in the store and has to deal with a transaction every 2 minutes or so. Transaction speed and efficiency is therefore a key component of the service offer to the customer. Interfere with this and the customers will go elsewhere.

Here’s a summary of the effect on smaller retailers of the new display bans set out in the new Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2008: 

• Small retailers will be disadvantaged unfairly versus larger retailers  
• Customer transaction times will be slowed as staff attempt to locate the products customers want 
• Restocking merchandising units, cupboards or drawers will take longer as staff try to identify what goes where 
• Stock outs of certain lines will increase as staff and store managers will not be able to see when a product is running out thus increasing delays and inefficiency even more 
• In store security risk will increase as sales staff become distracted trying to find hidden products and thieves will take advantage of this distraction 
• Sales of many non tobacco products will migrate to other sales channels (supermarkets) as the chaos that will ensue in dealing with tobacco customers inconveniences other shoppers 

Our Association commissioned some research (Auspoll) in June 2008 in NSW among the community and retailers. Some of the highlights are: 

• 63% of the community think that young people obtain cigarettes from siblings or peers 
• 76% of the community between the ages of 18 -29 years think that young people obtain cigarettes from siblings or peers  
• 65% of retailers said that business confidence was lower than in 2007 (this was before the outbreak of the current financial crisis)
• 81% of retailers saw display bans favouring supermarkets 
• 67% of retailers in NSW said they had heard nothing about the Government’s proposals to introduce display bans