Nisa-Today's aims to recruit 300 new retail members in the next year, according to chief executive Neil Turton.

Turton, addressing members at this week's Nisa-Today's annual conference in Sorrento, Italy, said the organisation had recruited 70 new members, representing a total of 182 stores, since April. This was without the help of a recruitment drive kicking off this month.

To help achieve this target, Nisa would focus on Northern Ireland, targeting Mace retailers unhappy with the recent acquisition of symbol operator J&J Haslett by Musgrave Group.

"This gives us an opportunity to offer the Mace retailers a more profitable alternative to Musgrave supply," said Turton.

The drive will also include trade press advertising, a new recruitment brochure and a direct marketing campaign to key prospects.

Sales were up 6% to £1.08bn in the year to April 2007, he reported, on profits of £7.7m, a "wafer-thin 0.7%" margin.

"The benefits of our growth were passed back to members in the form of better services and lower prices. Over £2m more rebates were paid to members."

Turton said Costcutter's decision to sell a controlling stake in the business to distribution and logistics giant Bibby Line Group was good news for members, arguing Costcutter could have easily sold out to a trade rival. "If it had done that, then in a worse case scenario Nisa could have been looking at a catastrophic loss of volume."

However, Turton distanced Nisa-Today's from the deal. "It does not affect Nisa directly and Nisa was not involved in any of the talks that led to the deal whereby Bibby invested in Costcutter," he insisted.

Turton also spoke out about the divisions in the group that built up during last year's failed merger with Costcutter. He admitted that sometimes "Nisa has felt like its finger has been dangerously close to the self-destruct button".

"We can be our own worst enemy," he warned, and called on all members to "think positively and support each other".

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