New Fed deputy vice president meets Kim Schmulian MSP in Glasgow

The challenges facing independent retailers across the UK were discussed when the Fed’s new national deputy vice president Nathalie Fullerton hosted a visit from Glasgow MSP, Kim Schmulian, at her business Go Local on Dumbarton Road in Partick on Friday, July 9.

Ms Schmulian, a Reform party MSP, was elected in May as a list member for the Glasgow city area in the recent Scottish Parliament election. Ms Fullerton was elected as national deputy vice president of the Fed last month, at the trade association’s annual conference in Birmingham. The Fed’s political engagement coordinator Douglas Oliver also attended the meeting.

During the discussion, they spoke about the high amount of theft facing Scottish retailers, a fact that was recently underlined by new Scottish government data indicating shoplifting crimes increased by 19 per cent from 44,730 to 53,369 between 2024-25 and 2025-26, or an increase of 86 per cent on levels of a decade ago.

Ms Fullerton spoke about various incidents of theft and intimidation she and her staff had experienced at her own store, and the need for the police and the courts to act more decisively to tackle it. She also spoke about the Fed’s work in support of the Retail Crime Taskforce, whose advisory board she also sits on.

The Fed team highlighted the lack of resourcing and focus local authority trading standards apply to deal with black market trade and the vast tax gap that has been reported by HMRC last month, as huge quantities of tobacco are sold illicitly in the UK without being taxed.

Ms Schmulian said: “I would like to commend Nathalie and her team for the great service they provide for people. They offer an important familiar face and serve as linchpins of the local community.

“However, levels of theft and rogue trading are a blight on high streets and are completely unacceptable. I want to work with the Fed and colleagues in the Scottish Parliament to ensure more is done to tackle this.”

During the meeting, the Fed team also highlighted the organisation’s work to help members prepare for the deposit return scheme (DRS) for recycling bottles and cans when it goes live in October next year. Ms Schmulian saw at first hand the return point that Ms Fullerton has recently installed in her store.

Ms Fullerton said: “I really appreciate Kim’s interest in my business and it was good to discuss some of the challenges facing small shops. It was also good to speak about some of the great value businesses like mine provide through a vast range of convenience products, plus innovating in new areas, like preparing for DRS when it goes live next year.”