THE HUB RETAIL RECRUITMENT’S WEEKLY NEWS SNIPPETS
- Date: 19 April 2017
- Posted By: admin
Amidst all the furore around the surprise announcement that we’re having a General Election on 8th June, here at The Hub Retail Recruitment we’re bringing you some alternative stories, just in case you’re in need a something a bit lighter.
And talking about light relief, did you have a good Easter? It is of course the time for…eating chocolate – so much chocolate so little time was a slogan that certainly resonated in our office! Having overdosed on Cadbury’s chocolate in particular, we were interested to read this story about how, when Kraft bought Cadbury’s back in 2012, with a promise of no closures, it almost immediately went back on its word by closing Somerdale in Bristol, axing 500 jobs. But there seems to be payback for Irene Rosenfeld, the CEO who is now being replaced because of these sorts of broken promises. And when we say payback, we mean payback as she’s also being investigated for tax evasion – of eye watering amounts. What goes around, comes around.
Other news we’re bringing you this week is: Tesco’s mixed fortunes; Next’s boss gets a pay cut; UK economy gets a boost; and How to reward your people.
Tesco’s mixed fortunes: Tesco’s profits have fallen again. Which you might find a little surprising as we’ve been telling you over the last few months that it’s sales are looking much better. Well, it did actually exceed the target it set itself for its operating profit for the year, and like for like sales in the UK grew by 0.9% – the first increase in 7 years. But. It took a big hit on that fine of £235m for overstating its profits in 2014. That shameful episode is now over and settled. And its new CEO Dave Lewis remains upbeat about the progress the retailer is making under his leadership, and expects that to continue in 2017.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39575032
Next’s boss get a pay cut: And what a cut. 55%. Mind you, these are figures most of us can only dream about – Lord Wolfson’s total pay has been cut from £4.3m to £1.8m. The company’s remuneration committee has decreed that there will be no bonuses for any executives given Next’s poor performance last year, especially those disastrous Christmas sales we told you about, and it’s also slashed the long-term share awards. There’s a growing trend in this sort of pay constraint for senior people – with companies coming under pressure by investors and shareholders – and MPs also wading in on this hot topic.
http://news.sky.com/story/next-boss-lord-wolfson-has-pay-cut-by-55-after-profit-dip-10842472
UK economy gets a boost: With all those doom and gloom predictions post the Brexit vote proving to be, the whole, unfounded – save for the fall in the pound – the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has had to admit its predictions were also wrong, and now estimates that the UK economy will grow by 2% this year – second only to the US. It says that spending here has remained resilient, contrary to expectations, and therefore the economy is holding up well. These sorts of projections can only help with our EU exit negotiations.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/18/imf-ratchets-up-uk-economic-growth-forecast-to-2
How to reward your people: If you were wondering what rewards might be valued by your people for doing a great job – apart from a good pay increase or bonus of course – have a read of this article. According to this report by Red Letter Days for Business, we like rewards such as experiences, particularly unusual ones, receiving luxury products, and wellness programmes that include massages and spa days. We certainly concur with all of these, particularly the massage/spa day, and have used to reward hard work and great results – it goes down a treat.
That’s the last weekly snippets for April – next week we’ll be doing our usual Monthly News Round, so make sure you’re back here next week, April 26th, for some more of our pick of April’s top stories.