THE HUB RETAIL RECRUITMENT’S WEEKLY NEWS SNIPPETS
- Date: 12 April 2017
- Posted By: admin
As we head towards the Easter weekend – 4 whole days off – we’ve got quite a variety of stories to bring you this week: Jaeger falls into administration; Retail sales down again; Inflation doesn’t inflate; Champers at the desk; and BrewDog cashes in.
Jaeger falls into administration: Another of our heritage brands bites the dust. Last year it was Austin Reed, this year it’s Jaeger. The high end fashion retailer, which has been going for over 130 years – and in its hey day sold to Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, as well as recently the Duchess of Cambridge, failed to find a buyer after trying for some months and called in the administrators. 680 jobs are at risk from the potential closure of its 46 stores, 63 concessions, its HQ in London and logistics centre in Kings Lynn. It’s another sad loss of another traditional brand from our High Street – but perhaps all might not be lost if a buyer can still be found. Fingers crossed for everyone at Jaeger.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/10/jaeger-goes-into-administration
Retail sales down again: And the news just keeps getting worse. Retail sales dropped again by 1% last month – so down month on month in the first quarter of 2017. This equates to a fall of 0.7% in like for like sales from January to March, the worst it’s been for 6 years. Pundits are putting it down to us having less to spend because of rising inflation, and of course the fall in the pound and all the uncertainty over Brexit. BUT retailers are optimistic that the sunshine and Easter weekend will loosen our wallets as we’ll be buy our Spring wardrobe and spruce up our homes over the Bank Holiday. So let’s see what the April figures look like when they come through in March.
Inflation doesn’t inflate: The good news is that inflation (consumer prices index – CPI) hasn’t gone up this month. The bad news is that it hasn’t gone down! So it remains at 2.3% – held there thanks to lower air fares and petrol prices dropping a little. But food prices as you’ll know from our blog a couple of weeks ago, went up in March – the first time in 3 years. So all in all one has cancelled out the other. However, economists are expecting April to show a rise in inflation. You can be sure we’ll be keeping an eye on that one for you.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39564885
Champers at the desk: When you’re thinking of joining a new company, it probably matters to you if the offices you’ll be working in are nice, if the area those offices are in offer good amenities. So what would you say to working in a building – due to be finished next year – that will offer high end food and champagne delivered to the desk by the touch of a button? And delivered from great restaurants on the ground floor. How do spa-style bathrooms, modelled on a hotel in Manhattan grab you? Or uniformed valets, terraces and balconies, a concierge desk? And so it goes on. Sounds right up your street? Then look out next year for any companies that are moving into 40 Beak Street in London, and is looking to hire someone just like you.
Luxurious office to deliver champagne and sushi to staff desks
And finally…BrewDog cashes in: We mention the Scottish ‘punk’ brewer, not only because it’s a phenomenal success story, but also as you’ll know from being a regular reader of our blog, BrewDog is not only a dog friendly workplace, but now offers 2 weeks puppy leave. The business has been valued at around an eye-watering £1b, and an American private equity firm has bought a 22% stake in it, netting the founders around £100m to share between them. Whilst we applaud its success, we do hope this doesn’t effect the puppy leave!
That’s it for this week. We wish you a great weekend – enjoy those 4 days off, and here’s hoping for wall-to-wall sunshine. See you back here next week, Wednesday, 19th April.