COMBATING CRIME and helping to keep communities together remain two of the main goals of Scottish retailers, Dundee businessman Eddie Thompson said last night.

He was speaking as he handed over the chairmanship of trade body, the Scottish Retail Consortium.

Mr Thompson, who is chairman of Dundee United FC, was founder of the Morning, Noon & Night convenience store chain.

He said, “It has been a privilege to serve as chairman of the SRC over the last seven years. The organisation was launched with the assistance of the British Retail Consortium to link with the new Scottish Parliament just formed.

“The SRC has come a long way since then and is now recognised by both parliamentarians and the media as the voice of the Scottish retail industry, which turns over £20 billion in sales per year.”

Retailing employs about a quarter of a million people, about one in 10 of the Scottish workforce. The vast majority of businesses are small, with fewer than 50 workers but the SRC also represents many of the big High Street names.

He said, “The biggest problem we have had is retail crime—it has been a massive issue and we have tried to get the Scottish Parliament to understand the difficulties retailers have.

“Smaller retailers in outlying areas often don’t have much security and there are problems of physical abuse and intimidation.”

There was a need to focus on crime prevention measures to cut incidents and reduce the enormous losses retailers suffer.

The SRC’s last crime survey, in 2003, put the cost at almost £230 million. It has asked for police forces to record retail crime as one of their key performance indicators, ensuring it gets a higher priority, and has called for the Executive to build on the success of the Safer Cities initiative by rolling out similar measures in smaller towns.

Mr Thompson said there was also continuing concern about the running down of town centres and the effect that could have on communities. There was a need for large superstores and out-of-town developments, but a proper balance had to be struck if a sense of community was not to be lost.

Among the other highlights of his term of office were working to get Scottish business rates in line with those south of the border and opposing a proposed tax on plastic bags.

He said he was privileged to have been the first person to represent Scottish retailers on the British Retail Consortium and to have been given the SRC’s lifetime achievement award.

Mr Thompson has been succeeded as chairman by Ken MacKenzie, from the Co-op Group.