OPINION: How do you feel about the rise of dark stores? – Pete Cheema, chief executive, SGF

Dark stores have exploited the move towards online shopping that was one of the defining characteristics of lockdown

For several years, the Scottish Grocers’ Federation [SGF] has managed a Scottish Parliament cross-party group on independent convenience stores.

Cross-party groups operate in a very similar way to all-party parliamentary groups at Westminster.

The group has proved to be a highly effective platform for bringing retail industry issues directly into parliament.

Our most recent meeting looked at the future of retail in the post-pandemic landscape.

One issue that was discussed repeatedly was the emergence of so-called ‘dark stores’.

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