The annual Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) summit has been announced with an impressive list of speakers for next April.

The ACS summit is a large event in the convenience retail industry and will take place at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on April 30.

Summit 09 will feature the likes of The Co-operative Group’s Guy McCraken, Poundland’s Jim McCarthy and David Smith of Global Futures.

The ACS summit will also feature an address from Dave Brailsford, a coach in Team GB’s victorious Olympic cycling team.

The event aims to focus specifically on the future, uniqueness, people and passion of the convenience industry. It aims to build on the success of last year’s summit, at which there were more than 400 delegates.

Also this week, an ACS delegation including independent retailers Jonathan James and Jonathan Clarke met with the Low Pay Commission as part of the consultation on the National Minimum Wage rates for the next two years.

ACS ceo James Lowman, who led the delegation, said: “Convenience stores have had to contend with inflation-busting increases in the National Minimum Wage as well as coping with rising utility costs, bank charges and business rates, as well as other employment law changes that have brought costs and administrative burdens.

“With the country facing uncertain economic conditions, and with the government tightly controlling public sector pay increases, now is not the time for further increases that would damage our sector,” he said.

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