The RSA and Camelot’s Retailer Forum

A Retailer’s Perspective
Nowadays the inclusion of a National Lottery terminal in a village shop is vital for the general mix of services on offer, and certainly helps ‘get people through the door’. Camelot is constantly reviewing and updating the way it operates and understands the full importance of its relationship with independent retailers. That’s where I come in!

My name is Tom Williams. I am a rural retailer, and represent the RSA on Camelot’s Retailer Forum.

Our family operates a successful village shop in Hook Norton, and has done so since 1985 when we bought a general grocery store that was then in danger of closing down. During the last seventeen years we have witnessed many changes, and the arrival of the National Lottery has certainly been one of the most welcome!

What is the Retailer Forum?
The retailer Forum acts in an advisory capacity to Camelot, and its discussions and conclusions are critical to the development of Camelot policy across a range of issues affecting retailers.

The membership the forum is designed to reflect the UK’s four nations, the ethnic mix of the lottery retailers and the sectoral mix of independents, multiples and convenience outlets. The RSA is the only trade organisation involved that represents the independent sector, and so we have a big responsibility to act as both a voice and an ear on behalf of the shops we represent.

Meetings are held quarterly and, after each, I will be contributing to the RSA website in order to update you on the issues currently affecting our sector. I would also be happy to investigate any concerns that you may have (please contact me via RSA head office).

What’s going on at the moment?

- Lottery licence – Camelot CEO Diane Thomson will be heading the team to apply for the third lottery licence after successfully leading the company to win the second. This will be based on a strategy for growth that has successfully bucked the international trend of falling sales. More information will be available after Christmas.

- Operation Child – The aim is to minimise sales to underage children. It is an offence to sell a ticket to anyone under 16. The idea is that test purchases are made by agencies that don’t use anyone over 17, and those who are found to have complied will receive a letter of congratulation. However, if a ticket is sold to anyone underage, a second visit is made and, if a sale is made on a third visit, their terminal will be removed. Tip: Make sure your ‘under 16’ signs are displayed in a prominent position.

- Sales improvement programme (SIP) – The National Lottery is dedicated to raising money for good causes through ticket sales. In order to do this they have introduced a sales improvement programme to help retailers selling less than a minimum weekly sales target. This is done by offering them a tailored package of support and assistance to improve their performance. The demand for terminals is high which is why Camelot is so keen to maximise sales. The good news for village retailers, who are struggling to compete with our high street counterparts, is that, through discussion and negotiation, the minimum weekly sales target has been lowered from £1,400 to £1,000.

- Olympics - National Lottery funding will contribute up to £1.5 billion towards the cost of the 2012 Olympic Games.

- Scratch cards update - The sale of Scratchcards continues its steady upward growth, and now contributes 20% of total lottery revenue.

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