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ADVERTORIAL
Q-KANGAROO is an app platform for food and beverage retailers; it is a powerful tool for handling prepaid pick up, sit in, delivery and at table ordering. Although born and bred in Dundalk, aspirations are to take the app not only Ireland-wide but UK-wide.
Q-KANGAROO launched in November 2018 as an ‘order ahead’ app, offering consumers in the test areas of Dundalk and Swords the ability to order and prepay for coffee and snacks in local cafes and restaurants.
This test was phase one in the development of a complete mobile ordering solution for the food and beverage industry.
In early February 2020, Q-KANGAROO released a completely new version of its app, offering all the features above plus an upgraded ‘wallet’ function which allows seamless commission-free currency conversion. The new wallet capabilities are of particular benefit to people regularly visiting Northern Ireland or traveling to Britain.
With the current climate surrounding COVID-19, the team at Q-KANGAROO worked quickly to offer their services to businesses who were greatly affected by the pandemic in the food & drink industry. This swiftly expanded beyond cafes & restaurants to include catering, butchers, convenience stores, essentially those businesses that provide an essential service to the public. The team focused their efforts in Dundalk as a starting point but soon realised that the demand for a service that enables customers to be able to get their food & drink in a manner that is both quick and safe was more widespread.
As of May, Q-KANGAROO became available in both Newry and Belfast. The stores to join Q-KANGAROO first in Newry were Grounded Coffee & XOLO Burrito, followed by Delilites. There are also a number of stores being prepared to go live on Q-KANGAROO in Newry so that the people of Newry have access to all their essential food items such as B&M Meats who are now available to order from on Q-KANGAROO.
The team at Q-KANGAROO has also expanded into the town of Warrenpoint where a number of stores are now live on the app to order from. The guys at Delilites had this to say about Q-KANGAROO: “We at Delilites are delighted with the Q-KANGAROO app. It has been a win-win for our customers and for our team. There isn’t a better time than now for Q-KANGAROO to have launched for both safety and efficiency! We encourage all our customers to hop on board and take the short cut to the counter”.
Q-KANGAROO have recently launched their #EatSafeIreland campaign where they are encouraging both customers and stores to be using the app in order to get their food & drink in a manner that is both safe and quick which cuts out unnecessary queuing across Ireland. This week marks the beginning of their #EatSafeNewry campaign so you will be seeing a lot more of Q-KANGAROO popping up around the area so keep an eye out and make sure to use #EatSafeNewry & #EatSafeIreland when posting about Q-KANGAROO online.
Q-KANGAROO is available to download on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
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Social & Community Capital (S&CC), an independent charity launched by Ulster Bank in 1999 to support social enterprises and community businesses, has announced a £1 million Coronavirus Response Fund to help organisations that have suffered a loss because of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
Grants between £5,000 and £50,000 are being offered to organisations across the UK that employ people from vulnerable or disadvantaged groups. This funding aims to bridge the income gap so that organisations survive the crisis and continue to have a positive impact in their communities.
Alison Rose, CEO at NatWest Group, said: “Many social enterprises, community businesses and charities that form an integral part of our local communities have unfortunately seen their incomes affected by the ongoing pandemic, and we want to do what we can to offer our support. These grants will help champion the vital work that these businesses and charities do, so that they can continue to make a difference to those that need it most.”
Megan Peat, CEO at Social & Community Capital, said: “We know that people and families rely on the great work of local charities and community businesses, but we know that no one has been left unaffected by this devastating pandemic. This is why we want to help those organisations that employ people from vulnerable or disadvantaged groups and who have suffered a loss of trading income with our grants so that they can continue to have a positive impact in their communities.”
Applications for the Ulster Bank Social & Community Capital Coronavirus Grant Fund will open at 9am on Monday 22 June. Full information on the grants, including the application form and how to apply, will be available online from Monday 22 June at https://digital.ulsterbank.co.uk/business/scc
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Buttercrane Shopping Centre is welcoming customers back safely with a host of new measures to ensure confidence following months of store closures.
The Centre has embarked on a rolling programme of opening as retailers unroll the shutters following government guidelines for non- essential stores to begin trading again.
Centre Manager Peter Murray says they’ve missed their customers and retailers are very glad to get back to some version of normal trading.
“As a Centre we’ve invested significantly in staff training, equipment and repurposed staff to support an enhanced cleaning. All high frequency touch points get regular attention – from the toilets, to ticket machines and external parking barriers. Hygiene stations are located at all entrance and exit points throughout the centre and at lift areas.
“We’ve adopted a one way system on mall which is clearly signed throughout and we’d ask people to adhere to the social distancing guidelines, in lifts, on mall and to give way on the stairs to those descending.
“Buttercrane has taken all possible steps to ensure the confidence of shoppers returning to Buttercrane as a safe place to visit.
“We’d appeal to everyone visiting to do their part – be polite, courteous and patient.
“Queues may be likely as stores will have to restrict the number of people in at any one time. Staff may be operating on reduced numbers to enable social distancing guidelines, so we’d appreciate your understanding.”
“To assist with queries we have additional, highly visible customer service advisors on mall to advise and support customers,” Peter concludes, “and we look forward to welcoming you back to Buttercrane.”
The Centre is trading Monday to Friday, 9-5.30pm and Saturday 9-6pm and Sunday 1-6pm to with no late night opening planned for the coming weeks. Individual retailers may differ, so check Buttercrane social channels for updates.
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Many local private bus and coach businesses were represented at last weeks protest at Stormont, to highlight their plight to Infrastructure Minister, Nichola Mallon and the Minister for the Economy, Dianne Dodds at Stormont. The protesters are calling for Government support for the industry during the Covid-19 crisis.
Martin Donnelly, proprietor of MD Coaches, based between Poyntzpass and Tandragee was one of the businesses represented.
His business disappeared overnight when the Covid-19 crisis began to bite. MD Coaches went from being constantly busy, getting 80 phone calls a day and bookings all the time to no phone calls and zero coming in.
Donnelly, a member of Bus and Coach NI thinks it could be a long time before recovery happens "I feel that we are forgot about, the coach industry itself. We were one of the first ones out and will be the last ones back. It's going to take us a long long time to recover. We are looking down the line of no work whatsoever until this ends. We could potentially be looking at next March, next April. We need help, there's still bills coming in, trying to keep drivers, paying staff."
Mr Donnelly is concerned that the winding down of the furlough system will make things even worse "It's affecting us hard, It's going to affect us harder when they do away with the furlough system. They are talking about stopping it in August and then we will be expected to pay more towards our employees wages. We have no money to do that. We are not making any money whatsoever We're still expected to pay finance, pay drivers wages. We simply can't do it. It will put a lot of people out of business.
"Those who have invested big money into vehicles. I was about to do it and thank God I didn't. There's men sitting on millions of pounds of finance. What are they going to do?"
The coach industry is a massive part of tourism and without coach parties the economy of many places will suffer.
Ultimately the operators need financial support from Government possibly for a long time to come. Concluding Donnelly adds "We need financial support, the fishermen received money, other industry received money, we have got nothing and we are a big industry too
"Coronavirus has turned things totally upside down with us. Shops, pubs, hairdressers will be opened again, they'll be flat out. If the Government said to us tomorrow, you can open up on Wednesday by all means, we have no work. There's nobody going to book buses. That's the long and short of it."
Recovery Strategy Needed
MLA Cathal Boylan says the Economy Minister needs to establish a recovery strategy for the transport sector to give bus and coach operators support to recover from losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Private bus coaches have been hit hard recently as trade has completely fallen during covid-19. Like others in the transport sector private coaches generally have a lot of overhead costs which are hurting them during this disruption of trade such as insurance costs and leases. The huge downturn in the tourist industry has also impacted many operators as well."
The Newry and Armagh MLA added “The infrastructure committee agreed to reach out to the Infrastructure and Economy ministers on the issue of support for private coach operators during covid-19.
“ Additionally, I have written to the minister of the economy to ask whether she intends to establish a recovery strategy for transport-related sectors, including bus operators to help kick start the sector again."
Key Industry
Newry and Armagh MLA Justin McNulty also expressed disappointment that the Executive has yet to bring forward a package to support the Coach and Bus industry in Northern Ireland.
Mr McNulty said, "Bus and coach operators are a key industry in the north and they employ hundreds of people locally and thousands regionally. They have been pleading for help and assistance from the Executive for months now but nothing has materialised.
"Their work has fallen off the edge of a cliff and with events, sports, tourism and schools all cancelled the impact of this pandemic could be catastrophic in terms of jobs and people’s livelihoods. The industry has been forgotten about in the suite of measures announced by the Executive to date. They were unable to avail of any of the Rates Support grants, many of them have been unable to get access to the hardship funds announced to date, and yet, there seems to be a lack of willingness or indeed understanding of the needs of the sector."
Mr McNulty added "I have written to the Economy Minister on a number of occasions now and have made the case for a bespoke package for the industry, but as of yet, there has been no response, not to mention any progress. This is not acceptable, people’s livelihoods are hanging on by a thread and the industry needs real help now. I am calling on the First, Deputy First and Economy Minister to listen to the plight of the industry. They cannot be forgotten about."
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Silverwood Marketing School have teamed up with the Belfast Academy of Marketing, who provide accredited professional courses for the Chartered Institute of Marketing, to launch a study centre in the Greater Newry region which will open in September 2020.
The Newry centre has evolved from a long-standing collaboration with Frank McKee, Principal of Belfast Academy of Marketing and Tony McKeown, CEO of Silverwood Smart Marketing, a full-service agency recently established in the city.
Belfast Academy of Marketing is well established in Belfast with a strong track record of supporting marketers from further afield including Newry. The Principal Frank McKee welcomes the choice for Newry as a second location for delivering that expertise which was made possible by drawing on Tony’s strong local presence. It fits Frank’s ambition for Belfast Academy of Marketing to provide digital learning options with an easy transition to classroom environment in Newry.
At the launch of Silverwood Marketing School, Cllr Laura Devlin Chairperson of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council said “This is superb news for Newry and the wider catchment area and totally complements the exciting regeneration plans for Newry City. This is exactly the type of initiatives that we want to see here in Newry. We have amazing talent in the District and if local can people can avail of professional accreditations here on our doorstep – all the better.
It’s a win/win, as local businesses benefit with people eating and shopping in the city – not to mention the positive impact on the environment with less cars travelling to Belfast or Dublin to attend this type of training. Well done to all involved.”
Tony McKeown commented “This is really positive news for the Greater Newry area. We are delighted that Frank and his team have agreed to partner with us. There is huge potential for this area to become an economic hub as we enter a new decade. We feel that in order for businesses to achieve their objectives, marketers need to take a leading role. So we want to ensure they are highly skilled and connected to each other”.
The Newry centre will offer a full range of qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Marketing. As well as 1-2-1 Mentoring, In House Training, a masterclass series of one day workshops and access to a prestigious CMO Collective.
Belfast Academy of Marketing is an accredited study centre for the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). It was established in 2012 and has been commended in the industry for its excellent results supporting hundreds of marketers through their marketing qualifications and continued professional development.
Silverwood Smart Marketing is a full service marketing agency based in Newry. They offer Strategic Marketing Planning, Digital Marketing across all platforms, Social Media Management, Advertising and Print Management through to Event Management and Public Relations.
For more information, please email hello@silverwoodsmartmarketing.com or visit our website WWW.SILVERWOODSMARTMARKETING.COM to download the Silverwood Marketing School 2020/2021 Brochure.
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Shelbourne Motors has renewed its association with Ulster and Ireland scrum-half John Cooney as its official Brand Ambassador.
The Irish International will once again link-up with one of the north's largest family-owned vehicle retailers to promote its range of global car manufacturers.
Shelbourne Motors employs over 170 staff across its multi award winning dealerships in Newry and Portadown. The car retailer operates Toyota, Renault, Nissan, Kia and Dacia franchises, as well as a Used Car Supermarket, Accident Repair Centre, Vehicle Rental Division and Valet Centre.
John Cooney had a remarkable 2019/20 season until it was curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic, scoring 165 points and 9 tries in 15 appearances for Ulster that culminated in 3 appearance for Ireland.
Speaking about his link-up with Shelbourne Motors, John Cooney, said: “I’m absolutely delighted that Shelbourne Motors has asked me to renew my Brand Ambassador role. I really feel part of the Shelbourne Motors family and look forward to working with the team to promote their unequalled sales and after-care experience to customers as one of Northern Ireland’s largest family-owned vehicle retailers.”
Paul Ward, Director of Shelbourne Motors, said: “We are honoured and privileged to have John Cooney renew his association with Shelbourne Motors. John epitomises everything that we want from a Brand Ambassador – both on and off the pitch – and we look forward to continuing to work with him over the next twelve months as part of the Shelbourne Motors family.”
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The CEO of Warrenpoint Port has said the port remains unclear on any new harbour infrastructure needed in relation to Brexit plans. South Down MP Chris Hazzard has said he will be writing to the British Government to ask for clarity with the MP suggesting that a new 40,000 sq ft checking facility is being proposed.
In a statement David Holmes, CEO, Warrenpoint Port said:“As the second largest harbour in Northern Ireland, Warrenpoint Port serves the island economy ensuring the efficient passage of a range of essential goods.
“It is vital this service continues, allowing trade to flow with the minimum of disruption following the end of the EU exit transition period.
“However, at this stage port authorities remain unclear on the requirements, if any, for the construction of new harbour infrastructure.
“With just six months remaining until the completion of the UK’s transition from the EU, clarity from the government on this matter is now an absolute imperative.”
Urgent Clarity
MP Chris Hazzard has said the British government need to provide urgent clarity to Warrenpoint Harbour and the local community regarding arrangements for post-Brexit checks at the South Down Port.
In recent days it has been revealed that a new 40,000 square-foot checking facility is being proposed at Warrenpoint in order for the north of Ireland’s second biggest Port to be compliant with post-Brexit trading regulations on 1st January 2021.
The South Down MP said "As a result of Brexit and the need for enhanced checks at the north's sea ports, the Warrenpoint Harbour Authority and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) have been working round the clock in recent weeks to submit plans for a significant new checking facility at Warrenpoint in order to comply with Brexit regulations.
"This would involve the construction of a large inspection facility, office space and HGV parking bays; and given the approaching Brexit deadline, it needs to be done as soon as possible in order for trade to continue post Brexit in 6 months time. Yet there is still much confusion as to what exactly is being proposed; who is footing the bill; and when construction will commence. The British Government must urgently put its cards on the table and bring some transparency to this process.
Opportunity for meaningful consultation virtually non-existant
“Moreover, due to the submission deadlines and the fact that the proposed site is located within the ‘development rights’ of the Harbour, the opportunity for the local community to participate in a meaningful consultation process is virtually non-existent. Given the likely impact of this new facility on the adjacent Area of Specific Scientific Interest (ASSI) and the location of it so close to the scenic Narrow Water Gateway to the town, its vitally important the community and local public representatives have an opportunity to view the plans as soon as possible.
“Such a large-scale development calls for a ‘belt and braces’ approach to landscape management and I would hope that the Harbour Authority, DAERA, and Newry, Mourne & Down Council will ensure that the community are informed as soon as possible as to what this will involve and how we can build upon these environmental mitigations in the future to protect the very sensitive environmental and wildlife heritage of the nearby area.
Mr Hazzard added “The local community appreciate the fact that this new facility is a consequence of the British government’s reckless Brexit policy, and that these checks are required in order to protect our all-island economy and our unique and special circumstances as outlined in the Irish Protocol. However that does not give the British Government, DAERA, nor the Warrenpoint Harbour Authority the freedom to ignore the views and interests of the local community regarding any potential impact of this facility.
“Warrenpoint Harbour Authority and the local community need urgent clarity from both the British government and DAERA on this matters, and I will be writing to the British government to request an urgent meeting to discuss it."
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Newry, Mourne and Down District Council in partnership with Down Business Centre Ltd and Newry & Mourne Enterprise Agency is offering local budding entrepreneurs’ ‘virtual’ access to the Go For It Programme to help them launch their business idea during the Coronavirus pandemic. Write a comment
The CEO of Deli Lites has been selected as a finalist in the 2020 Institute of Directors NI, Director of the Year Awards.
Newry business leader Brian Reid is among the finalists being nominated in the International category.
The awards run in partnership with AIB, are marking their 10th anniversary this year and celebrate excellence across the public, third, and private sectors with judges choosing 42 entrants to make the shortlist.
In order to adhere with government guidelines on social distancing and to ensure the health and safety of participants, their families, and colleagues, the winners will be announced at a scaled down ceremony to be held at The Merchant Hotel, Belfast in September.
Gordon Milligan, Chairman, IoD NI commented “The last number of months have been extraordinary as we have all adapted to new ways of doing business and a new way of doing life in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“In many respects, it has brought out the very best in the Northern Ireland business community as some firms changed their focus to help the national effort to beat the virus, and many others pulled together to support each other financially and in other ways.
“It proved once again the tremendous calibre of business leaders in the region which will also be showcased at our annual Director of the Year Awards.
“Congratulations go to all those to have made the shortlist and we very much look forward to safely celebrating with you at our ceremony in September.”
The Shortlist
Director of the Year - Non-Executive – sponsored by Deloitte
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