'Waitrose targets former pubs for convenience'
Your former local pub could soon become a Waitrose after the grocer unveiled aggressive plans yesterday to open 300 convenience stores in the next 10 years. The supermarket, which currently has just seven convenience shops, said it wanted sites, including former pubs and petrol filling stations, to turn into new branches. The chain, which has 231 outlets, said it was interested in leasehold or freehold sites with between 3,000 square feet and 7,000 sq ft of selling space in city and town centres where there was a high footfall of potential customers - The Independent
The Scottish Executive research, published today, suggests adults north of the Border buy on average 24 per cent more alcohol than shoppers in England and Wales. This equates to about an extra two-and-a-half pints a week, or two glasses of medium-strength wine. Shops and off licenses account for 68 per cent of all drink sales in Scotland, double the figure from pubs, bars and nightclubs, the study states - The Telegraph
More than 50 per cent of young adults are 'extreme binge drinkers' with many women viewing it as normal to down more than two bottles of wine on a night out. An alarming picture of the nation's future talent hooked on dangerous levels of alcohol is revealed in a unique study looking at the drink diaries of young adults. Some 83 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 can now be classified as regular binge drinkers, according to research by retail analysts Mintel - Daily Mail
David Cameron and Barack Obama have reported back on the beers they swapped last month. "We have just concluded some excellent discussions, including whether the beers from our hometowns that we exchanged are best served warm or cold," President Obama said of his counterpart, British Prime Minister David Cameron.Obama said he drank the British-made Hobgoblin cold, and pronounced it "excellent." Cameron said he drank some Goose Island 312 -- also cold -- while watching another World Cup match. "I enjoyed it so much that when I watched Germany beat Argentina, I actually cheered for Germany," Cameron said. "That's something that's a big admission for a British person to make, so the beer is obviously very effective." - USA Today
