This is the issue you’ve all been waiting for – our award winners’ special!

The 2025 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards was another fantastic event, with history made and records broken, as the best of Northern Ireland’s independent retail came together to celebrate their successes.

You can see full coverage of this gala awards night and the full list of winners in our exclusive supplement.

Following his record-breaking fifth win as Northern Ireland Retailer of the Year, NR visited Tom McAvoy’s Milestone Rathfriland store for a behind-the-scenes look at what makes this award-winning store so successful.

Meanwhile, the Windsor Framework continues to impact the day-to-day running of retail and wholesale businesses across Northern Ireland. NR spoke to Head of FSB NI, Roger Pollen to discuss the issues and see what lies ahead for businesses on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Elsewhere, we find out more about a brand-new family-run convenience store opened by the Wilson family at Carn, and we’re officially on the Christmas countdown and there is plenty of NPD to catch your eye.

ALL THIS AND MUCH MORE IN THE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER ISSUE – READ IT HERE!

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In a special piece of work commissioned by the Federation of Small Businesses NI, businesses both here and in GB have said the Windsor Framework is “impossible to navigate”.

Over the course of the summer, retailers experienced a variety of issues with paperwork required by the Windsor Framework, with many having their supplies stopped at the ports, pallets returned or supplies halted completely meaning they were unable to provide items to their customers.

The Windsor Framework Realities report is the first of its kind examining how the Windsor Framework is working on both sides of the Irish Sea. Almost 800 UK-wide businesses responded to the survey from across a variety of sectors including retail and wholesale, manufacturing and logistics, with over half of respondents (58%) who trade GB and NI stating they have experienced moderate or significant difficulties operating across the UK Internal Market.

Of those who move goods or provide services between NI and GB, 34% have halted trade with the other region entirely rather than contend with the Windsor Framework’s demanding requirements.

This pattern is most pronounced for GB firms cutting off NI customers (32% halted from GB to NI and 2% from NI to GB), a trend that could accelerate if compliance costs remain high.

Ongoing regulatory changes have undermined business planning, with the survey showing that of those affected by the Windsor Framework, 56% are “not confident” or only “slightly confident” in shaping their business strategy for the next 12 months, while only a minority (4%) felt completely confident.

As Head of FSB NI, Roger Pollen told NR, there are at least three cost layers to this.

“When a specific shipment goes wrong and has to be returned and brought back again, there is the cost in that. There could be the loss of the product and there is also the opportunity loss – if you do not have the product you are wanting to sell, there is that loss,” said Roger.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH ROGER POLLEN IN THE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER, COMING SOON

The post Windsor Framework problems ‘not being tackled properly’ first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

NIPSA union members in the Veterinary Service Animal Health Group (VSAHG) began five days of action on Monday 30^th October over what the union said was a derisory pay award of £552 being imposed across the NI Civil Service.

Initially vets at the ports will walk out, with other members to follow.

NIPSA issued an update on Tuesday 31^st October to say that the planned protest at Warrenpoint Port had been cancelled, due to the severe flooding and continued rain.

More than 150 vets work in the VSAHG, along with technical, administrative and policy-making staff.

The action could have an impact on some food production plants with vets playing a vital role in food safety, carrying out import and export checks, animal welfare inspections and developing policy.

WINDSOR FRAMEWORK

Many food products have to be checked by vets in Northern Ireland’s ports as they arrive from Great Britain, under the terms of the Windsor Framework.

This mainly concerns so-called “red lane” goods which are due to travel onwards to the Republic of Ireland.

However, a proportion of “green lane” goods need an identity check to ensure the products have been accurately recorded on a packing list.

NIPSA General Secretary Carmel Gates said her members were “fed up” with their pay, compared to their counterparts elsewhere in the UK.

“The latest paltry pay award, following decades of austerity and below inflation pay awards, is a further kick in the teeth to all hard-working civil servants,” she added.

The VSAHG’s function is critical in safeguarding animal welfare in Northern Ireland, protecting public health and enabling the export and import of animals and agri-food products.

The agri-food industry is worth £5.4bn to the local economy.

Part of their work also focuses on preventing, controlling and/or eradicating animal diseases that could pose a threat to the industry.

Meanwhile, Retail NI has expressed concern that significant disruption could be caused to its members by the planned five-day industrial action.

Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said: “We have real concerns that this five-day strike could cause significant disruption to many of our wholesale and retail members that rely on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) inspection facilities.

“With the new Windsor Accord arrangements still bedding in and Christmas only around the corner, the timing of this strike for the local retail sector could not have come at a worse time.

“We cannot afford to have strikes like this disputing our local economy any further and hope that an agreed way forward on pay can be found.”

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Leaders from across the CBI’s Presidents’ Committee and Northern Ireland Council issued the open letter in which they congratulated Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on securing the “historic” Windsor Framework.

In the letter they welcome the agreement’s role in “resolving significant challenges” around the Northern Ireland Protocol, “bolstering the UK-EU relationship” and “laying the foundations for increased prosperity across the province”.

‘PATH FORWARD’

The open letter states that while they are taking the time to “digest the details” of the agreement, they are “united” in their belief it is the “most sustainable path forward” for Northern Ireland.

Signatories of the document include representatives of Amazon UK, Siemens Plc and Sainsbury’s.

Notable Northern Ireland and Ireland business names include Martin Agnew, Joint Managing Director of the Henderson Group; Brian Donaldson, CEO of The Maxol Group; Joanne Molloy, Managing Director of TS Foods Ltd and Brian Gillan, Head of Retail & NI, Allied Irish Bank UK.

The letter also calls on stakeholders to use the momentum generated by the Windsor Framework to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland “as swiftly as possible”.

The full text of the letter is:

Dear Prime Minister,

We businesses, representatives on the CBI Presidents’ Committee and the CBI’s Northern Ireland Council, congratulate the Prime Minister and the UK government for achieving the breakthrough in the negotiations with the EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol, and accomplishing the Windsor Framework. Business welcomes the framework as a watershed moment for the UK-EU relationship, and it represents a huge opportunity for both the Northern Irish and Great British economies.   

It is vital that trade flows between Great Britain and Northern Ireland are smooth, and friction for firms is minimised. The Windsor Framework will mean that the Northern Irish economy can maximise the opportunities presented by dual access to the EU and UK markets. Due to the breadth and complexity of its scope, businesses are taking time to digest the details. However, we are nonetheless united in believing that the Windsor Framework is the most sustainable path forward for Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.  

With this historic agreement behind us, now is the time for power-sharing to be restored in the Northern Ireland Executive and for political representatives to turn their attention to economic growth and delivering greater prosperity for everyone across Northern Ireland.  

Signed.

Martin Agnew, Joint Managing Director, Henderson Group  

Ashley Almanza, Executive Chairman, Allied Universal – International  

Lord Karan Bilimoria, Founder and Chairman, Cobra Beer 

Declan Billington, CEO, John Thompson & Sons Ltd   

Elaine Birchall, CEO, SHS Group Ltd 

John Boumphrey, Country Manager, Amazon UK 

Barry Byrne, Managing Director, Mount Charles 

Phil Clarke, Associate Director, MCS Group  

Liam Condon, CEO, Johnson Matthey 

Andrew Cosslett, Chair, Kingfisher & ITV 

Brian Donaldson, CEO, The Maxol Group  

Paul Drechsler, CBE, Chair, International Chamber of Commerce 

Carl Ennis, CEO, Siemens Plc 

Brian Gillan, Head of Retail & NI, Allied Irish Bank UK 

Ian Greer, President and Vice-Chancellor, Queen’s University Belfast 

John Harrison, UK Chairman and General Counsel, Airbus 

Miles Karemacher, General Manager, Coca-Cola HBC 

Brian McBride, President, Confederation of British Industry  

Kevin McNamee, CEO, Denroy Group 

Sir Ivan Menezes, CEO, Diageo plc 

Joanne Molloy, Managing Director, TS Foods Ltd 

Simon Roberts, CEO, Sainsbury’s 

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At a press conference on Monday 27^th February, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined details of the new agreement – entitled the Windsor Framework.

There are three key developments within the framework, with the Prime Minister saying a “decisive breakthrough” had been made.

Notably, there has been the removal of “any sense of a border in the Irish Sea” – with a ‘green lane’ allowing for the smoother flow of goods from Great Britain into Northern Ireland.

Food retailers among other businesses will “no longer need hundreds of certificates for every lorry” Mr Sunak said and will mean that foods available on the shelves of supermarkets in Great Britain will also be available on supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland.

There will also be enhanced availability of medicines in Northern Ireland, with a “landmark settlement” meaning that drugs approved by the UK regulator will “automatically be available in every pharmacy and hospital in Northern Ireland”.

‘REAL PEOPLE AND REAL BUSINESSES’

The Windsor Framework will “safeguard sovereignty for Northern Ireland” he added.

Mr Sunak said a new ‘Stormont brake’ would enable the Northern Ireland Assembly to stop EU goods laws applying here, with Ms von der Leyen stressing this was an “emergency mechanism”. If the brake is pulled, he added, this gives the UK Government a veto.

“It’s about real people and real businesses,” Mr Sunak said at the press conference, adding that it was about “showing that our union can and will endure”.

Meanwhile, Ms von der Leyen said it was important to “deliver on an important commitment to each other”.

“We had to listen to the concerns of the people of Northern Ireland, but we knew that we could do it because we were both committed to finding a protocol solution for all communities in Northern Ireland,” she said.

“The Windsor Framework will allow us to begin a new chapter,” she added.

TURNING POINT

The Prime Minister said the new agreement marked a “turning point” for Northern Ireland and said that parties and communities here would need time to look at the detail of the agreement.

“It’s now for the parties to consider this and decide how to take it forward for the people of Northern Ireland,” he added.

Responding to the agreement reached by the UK Government and European Union, Michael Bell OBE, Executive Director, Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association (NIFDA) said the Association welcomed the “considerable efforts” of the UK Government and the EU.

“Since the referendum and subsequent negotiations, the priority for the Northern Ireland food and drink industry has been for a durable negotiated solution that maintains frictionless trade and allows our businesses to grow and thrive,” he said.

“Alongside the wider business community we have urged solutions that deliver local businesses affordability, certainty, simplicity and stability.

“It will take time to fully analyse the document and understand implications for our members, but on first reading the Windsor Framework looks substantial and balanced, and represents the kind of pragmatic, practical solutions that we have been urging. We are working through the detail of the deal, but the agreement itself is an important step forward by both the UK Government and European Union.”

Chief Executive of Retail NI, Glyn Roberts said the new agreement “needs to work”.

“On an initial analysis, this new agreement represents welcome progress towards providing the stability and certainty that our retail, wholesale and supplier

members are seeking,” he said.

“The technical detail of this agreement will need to be studied further and, following consultation with our membership, we will be able to comment more definitively.

“In the interim, what is blatantly evident, is that the agreement needs to work, not just for all the businesses in our local supply chain, but also for local consumers. Ongoing engagement between the business community and the EU and UK Government will be critical as the implementation process of this deal begins.

“It is imperative that the NI Executive and Assembly is now restored to deal with the huge economic challenges that lie ahead. Northern Ireland needs a working government,” he added.

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