Tobacco gantry contracts combined with upcoming vape display restrictions will create significant upheaval in how space behind shop counters is used, a leading gantry supplier has warned. 

While the exact limits on where shops can display nicotine products under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill are yet to be confirmed, Labour’s then-health minister Andrew Gwynne backed the removal of “brightly coloured” vaping products “from the shop floor, from countertops and from shop windows” earlier this year. The legislation currently allows for the same restrictions to be used on other nicotine products, such as nicotine pouches. 

Eamonn de Valera, CEO of gantry and vending machine distributor Navarra Retail Systems, told Better Retailing this would relegate vapes to behind the counter, meaning choices stores have already made or are making now over tobacco gantries could leave them “trapped” in the future. 

De Valera claimed: “Many stores are being tempted by free gantries offered by tobacco firms. These mandate that two-thirds of space will go to their products and when you consider the already small amount of space these include for vapes, stores won’t be able to fit the range of bestselling brands that they will need within them.” 

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The CEO described these tobacco gantries and the payments many stores receive as a false economy because retailers will have to either shrink other sections, such as spirits, to make space, or to rely on tobacco manufacturers’ vapes and pouches, which he claimed are often slower-selling and offer a lower margin. 

Speaking to Better Retailing about the claims, a senior vaping industry source agreed there is a “potential issue” around space behind the counter due to the contracts. They predicted the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is now unlikely to pass into law before this autumn and the exact restrictions on displays will be subject to a government consultation. 

They advised that stores mulling multi-year gantry deals between now and the restrictions being confirmed to consider how its display limits would affect them. 

However, a shop owner that recently entered a gantry contract with a tobacco firm, speaking to Better Retailing on condition of anonymity, was dismissive of the likely impact. 

They responded: “Gantries are expensive. The tobacco manufacturer not only pays for it and the upkeep, but the incentives they offer are important, too. Shop owners will find a way to make sure the bestsellers remain on sale, even if it means finding shelf space behind the counter.” 

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is separate to the 1 June ban on disposable vapes. 

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