THE HUB RETAIL RECRUITMENT’S MONTHLY NEWSROUND
- Date: 25 January 2017
- Posted By: admin
This is our first monthly news round of the year. And what a year it’s already shaping up to be. Yesterday saw another chapter in the saga that is Brexit, with the Supreme Court ruling it is for Parliament to invoke Article 50 – but it would appear that preparations had been made for such an eventuality, with the Government expected to start the necessary legislative process tomorrow. So Brexit, we can safely say, will continue to be the big news of the year, and all the effects it is having: the slide of the pound; the FTSE at an all time high; inflation starting to increase; and so on. The other big news throughout 2017 will be about President Trump, and his new policies. Did you notice the very witty placard that said ‘we will over comb’ with a picture of the top of his head! For those of you too young to remember, it’s a pun on a folk song from the 60s called ‘we shall overcome’. Closer to home, the stories we’re bringing you in this monthly roundup are: Christmas sales defy predictions but a cold wind is blowing through shopping centres; House of Fraser doesn’t convince; Amazon tops the charts; Green & Ashley float; women – heels and money.
Christmas sales defy predictions but a cold wind is blowing through shopping centres: as we reported last week, the poor sales predicted for Christmas by retail experts didn’t materialise. Yes, Next’s sales were poor, but everyone else is reporting pretty good increases, from the supermarkets to the High Street. WH Smith has improved its forecast for profits following a good run that saw a 5% increase in its sales in petrol stations and airports – but on the High Street sales slumped by 3%, mainly, according to the retailer, because the craze of adult colouring is over. And as we know, the footfall on the High Street was at its highest for some years, with retail parks and shopping centres losing out. The latter is worrying after the news that 3 shopping centres – Broadwalk in Bristol, Port Arcade in Ellesmere Port and Belle Vale in Liverpool – have gone into administration. We hope this isn’t a trend that’s going to spread across the country, but we’ll keep you posted.
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2017/01/wh-smith-boosts-profit-forecast-after-christmas-success
https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2017/01/three-uk-shopping-centres-to-enter-administration
House of Fraser doesn’t convince: one of those retailers having a good Christmas was House of Fraser. Yet, despite that, Moody’s, the credit rating agency, isn’t convinced that HoF is back on track. So much so, it has reduced its prediction of HoF’s performance for 2017, and thereby downgrading the rating. Why, when it was up 2.7%? Apparently, it’s Brexit – the weak pound, inflation rising, and general sense of uncertainty, will affect in 2017. And we’re assuming that prediction goes right across retail. The Q1 sales will therefore be really quite critical in seeing what trend is emerging. We would however remind you that we were reporting way before Brexit that the UK was spending less on goods, and instead spending money on entertainment and experiences – holidays, restaurants, cinema for instance. So this trend was already there, Brexit or not – the question is, will it continue? Our prediction is…yes it will.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/18/moodys-warns-house-fraser-outlook/
Amazon tops the charts: no, not the pop charts, the customer satisfaction charts! And it’s topped it for the 3rd time in a row. Surprising really, given Amazon has attracted so much criticism over the last couple of months. Who did it beat? Well, Asos, a fellow online retailer was runner up, with John Lewis and M&S third and fourth. Apparently, though, there’s not much in it. But this article makes the point that, whilst the stats in customer satisfaction are close, the effect of focusing on the customer are always lucrative, and in such a tough market it will be the company that looks after its customers best that will perform strongly. The message is clear, forget your customer at your peril.
Green & Ashley float: Sir Philip Green and Mike Ashley that is: one presided over the downfall of BHS, the other poor ‘Victorian’ employment practices. Yet the two are strong investors in the Australian retailer MySale, with Sir Philip buying nearly 25% of the company via his wife’s, whilst Mr Ashley 4.8% via Sports Direct. The company has had a bumpy ride, but latest figures show that it’s fortunes are rising, as this article describes, with second half performance up by 4%.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/12107494/Mysale-reassures-tycoon-investors-Mike-Ashley-and-Philip-Green.html
Women: heels and money: we all remember the story of a receptionist at PwC being sent home without pay because she wore flat shoes and wouldn’t change into heels. Well, that astonishing incident led to 2 Parliamentary Select Committees looking into this, and were inundated with examples from women of discriminatory behaviour from their employers – for instance, being asked to dye their hair blonde, to regularly repair their makeup, to wear revealing clothes. The Equality Act 2010 makes these sorts of ‘rules’ illegal as it is discriminatory. But of course an employer has to be taken to court to prove it. The report issued by the 2 committees suggests much bigger compensation awards, and when a case is proven, all women in that business affected by the ‘rule’ would receive compensation. There is though an educational issue here says the report: that employers need to understand much better what their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 are, as well as the consequences. Related to this story is that a business with more than 250 employees will have to start issuing pay gender data from April – although it has 12 months from then to do so. We think it’s going to say a lot about a business, and if someone is thinking of joining that organisation, male or female, the gender pay gap could be an indicator of what sort of employer it is – fair, equitable, or potentially sexist. And on the topic of pay, you might like to know – although it probably doesn’t feel like it – that pay rose last year by 2.8% – including bonuses. However, taking inflation into account, in real terms, it was more like 1.7%. Here’s some information on each of these topics.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38737300
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=5768
https://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/issues/january-online-2017/total-pay-increases-2-8/?cmpid=ebnews_3014748
Well, that’s January done as far as our weekly blog is concerned. Next time it will be our Weekly News Snippets – so make sure you’re back here next Wednesday, 1st February. We’re looking forward to it already!