Press Releases

Today’s revelations of Victoria’s rampant illegal black market for nicotine vaping products should be the urgent wakeup call for all Australian Governments to step in and push for a sweeping overhaul of failed laws. The Victorian Smoking and Health Survey released this week shows there are more than 300,000 vapers in Victoria and indicates three-quarters of them are buying them from illegal channels. Across Australia, research commissioned by the Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) shows more than 1.1 million adult Australians vape, with 88 per cent of all nicotine e-cigarette purchases being made illegally through the black market without a prescription. “In February of this year AACS recommended the Victorian Government urgently introduce a retail licensing scheme, strengthen investigation and enforcement powers, and increase criminal penalties to crack down on illicit tobacco and vaping products, that report is yet to be released by the Minister for Regulatory Reform, Danny…

The lack of immediate solutions will lead to higher food prices for consumers and reduced food availability In the lead up to the Jobs and Skills Summit, Australia’s top peak food industry bodies calculated the food supply chain needed 172,000 skilled and unskilled workers from paddock to plate to continue the effective provision of food to the Australian community. The Food Supply Chain Alliance says despite food prices and food availability being top of mind for Australian consumers over the past twelve months, as part of ‘cost of living ‘pressures being experienced nation-wide, it does not believe the issues facing the food sector were given due priority or acknowledgement by the Government during the Summit. The likely result will be the negative impact it will have on Australia’s domestic food security. Pickers are needed to harvest horticultural crops, packers in warehouses and truck drivers for food distribution, workers in processing…

E-CIGARETTE BAN FAILING AS CONSUMER DEMAND SURGES WITH 1.1 MILLION AUSTRALIANS CHOOSING TO VAPE 260% RISE IN FIVE YEARS; TREND ACCELERATING SINCE BAN ON NICOTINE VAPE SALES CALL FOR URGENT REGULATION OF VAPE SALES TO TACKLE THE UNREGULATED BLACK MARKET More than 1.1 million Australian adults are now choosing to vape, with nearly half a million vapers in NSW alone. And despite repeated warnings from anti-vaping advertising campaigns and a nationwide ban on sales of e-cigarettes containing nicotine, the adult consumer demand for vaping is not slowing down – in fact, it is accelerating. The staggering data is contained in Roy Morgan survey data released by the Australian Association of Convenience Stores and has triggered calls for an urgent National Policy Summit to combat the out-of-control unregulated vaping black market. “Australia’s vaping policy has clearly failed,” said Australian Association of Convenience Stores chief executive Theo Foukkare. “The demand for e-cigarettes…

172,000 WORKERS NEEDED SAY PEAK FOOD INDUSTRY BODIES OR PROLONGED HIGHER FOOD PRICES FOR CONSUMERS AND REDUCED FOOD AVAILABILITY WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT 2022 AND BEYOND. Call for federal government to prioritise food sector in upcoming Jobs and Skills Summit Australia’s top peak food industry bodies have calculated the food supply chain is short at least 172,000 workers from paddock to plate. This massive labour shortage will have significant long-term impacts on price and the availability of food for the consumer unless solutions are found quickly. According to the peak bodies, which have recently collaborated to form the Food Supply Chain Alliance, this is one of the few ‘cost of living’ pressures the Government can influence. The Alliance believes the food sector, given it provides an essential service to the community, must be a priority at the upcoming Jobs and Skills Summit, which must deliver viable solutions to be considered a…

We held our Down Under Study Tour in Sydney last week, following a two year absence due to Covid. There were 53 registered attendees across retail and supplier members who were all eager to network and learn about innovation in convenience retail, from format development to foodservice, technology, loyalty, and operational excellence. Theo Foukkare, CEO, AACS, said the stores on the tour were carefully selected to showcase leading retail offers in the channel, as well as the latest in small format grocery from the major retailers moving into the convenience space. “What was clear throughout the store visits was that convenience retail is alive and thriving with innovation, delivered in different formats to suit the geographic location of the stores – the one size fits all approach is a thing of the past and to win in an ever changing environment retailers are continuing to adapt their offers to suit…

Sydney, 25th July 2022. United Convenience Buyers Pty Ltd (UCB), Australia’s largest leading specialised Petrol and Convenience Buying and Retail Development Group, for Independent Retailers, and Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS), representing Convenience Industry Retail & Supplier members in matters most pressing to the industry and strongly lobby for government reforms, announce a new sponsorship that will see United Convenience Buyers Pty Ltd sponsor Women in Convenience. UCB will provide AACS & Women in Convenience with financial support for an initial period of two years, supporting Women in Convenience with deepening its role in Australian Convenience, through networking, information sharing events and guest speakers. Darren Park, CEO United Convenience Buyers Pty Ltd, said “UCB has been invested in Women in Convenience from its formation. There is still a “broken rung” at the first step for many women in our Industry and UCB’s support of AACS and Women in Convenience,…