The Association of Convenience Stores has unveiled a new membership scheme for unaffiliated independents. Dubbed acsdirect', the scheme comprises the 600 unaffiliated independents within ACS and the 4,000 plus members of ACS associate Newsforce Promotions, which has become a wholly owned subsidiary of ACS. The initiative attempts to tackle the longstanding criticism the association is preoccupied with the needs of the c-store multiples and symbol groups comprising the vast majority of its membership. ACS chief executive David Rae said he was keen to boost numbers to provide a stronger base for negotiating support packages. Commercial manager John Ripper said the scheme provided the back up retailers needed to develop the professional store standards of affiliated retailers and multiples without losing independence. A new acsdirect board will be responsible for developing specific programmes dedicated to independent retailers, and comprises five ACS independent members plus five existing Newsforce directors. Membership costs £100 a year and includes favourable insurance, banking and medical cover packages, a c-store operations manual, shop fitting advice, helplines on tax and legal issues, and access to Premier Club members' web sites and the new ACS training scheme. A retail services manager to head the new scheme will be appointed this month. Separately, the association has developed a new mission statement in which it states its aim to be "aspirational and inspirational in the development of the whole c-store sector," which will mean developing stronger links with suppliers as part of a more holistic approach to the sector. l The acs web site, www.cstoreretailing.co.uk will be relaunched in March at the ACS annual conference and subsumed under the umbrella of www.thelocalshop.com, the web site developed by Newsforce. {{NEWS }}