THE HUB RETAIL RECRUITMENT’S WEEKLY NEWS SNIPPETS

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THE HUB RETAIL RECRUITMENT’S WEEKLY NEWS SNIPPETS

  • Date: 18 January 2017
  • Posted By: admin

A lot seems to have happened during the past week – we’ve had all sorts of stories about President Elect Trump; the pound took another tumble; and Theressa May has given her first speech about the Government’s approach to our exit from the EU. Our pick of the week’s news are linked to these twists and turns as we bring you: Highs on the High Street; Inflation up, sterling down (and up again); and on employment developments Judges win pension age discrimination.

Highs on the High Street: The news was good. Far better than predicted. As we reported last week, the supermarkets did well. What we now know is that Marks & Spencer had it’s best sales in the run up to Christmas for 6 years – and that included its clothes sales, up 2.3% whereas in the same period last year it was down 6% – so a big swing. Debenhams did well, up 5%. And Sainsburys results were buoyed up by Argos, whose sales increased by 4% – which confirmed that it was a good acquisition for Sainsbury’s. John Lewis and Waitrose reported increases of 2.7% and 2.8% respectively. Unfortunately for its staff though, John Lewis’s chairman, Charlie Mayfield, has said that bonuses will be lower this year because of rising overheads such as higher costs because of the weak pound which will bring down its operating profit. Fortnum & Mason had a cracking Christmas with sales up 16%, and online up 22% across 121 countries. In addition to these much better than expected results, footfall on the High Street was up for the first time in 5 years, whilst for retail parks and shopping centres it was down. Here’s an article that takes you through all the results so far, an article explaining the John Lewis position and Charlie Mayfield’s view on how the weak pound will affect retailers and more importantly us, the customer, and one on the footfall stats.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/12/uk-christmas-retail-winners-losers

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/12/john-lewis-cut-staff-bonus-market-waitrose-christmas

https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2017/01/high-street-experiences-first-footfall-uptick-since-2011

Inflation up, sterling down (and then up again): On the one hand, yes, inflation is up to 1.6%, an increase of 0.4% on the previous month; but on the other hand it’s still below the Bank of England’s target. So should we be worried? Well, what’s caused it is rising prices on fuel and food – and fuel is having an effect on transport costs, particularly air fares. Commentators are saying that it’s a direct consequence of Brexit causing the weak pound which is pushing up the cost of imports, although the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which publishes the rate of inflation, hasn’t made a direct link. What’s worrying is that this is the first increase in food prices for several years. In the first article below, there’s reference to the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy and whether, if inflation continues to rise, it might have to re-think the current very low interest rates we’ve been enjoying for the past few years – which will of course effect mortgages and the cost of borrowing. With Teressa May’s speech today, sterling did rally. As the plans for our exit from the EU unfold, and with Trump saying that he wants to quickly enter into a trade agreement with the UK, what happens to our economy in 2017 continues to feel very uncertain. The second article covers the increase in the pound in the light of the Prime Minister’s speech.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38649676

http://news.sky.com/story/pound-set-for-biggest-one-day-rally-since-2008-on-pms-brexit-speech-10732288

Judges win pension age discrimination. Well, if a Judge can’t win his/her case, who can? And if there’s 210 of them together making a case, an Employment Tribunal surely doesn’t stand a chance! The London Employment Tribunal considering this case did indeed find in favour of the Judges. But what was it all about? Well, the old pension scheme was closed in March 2015, and a new one bought in which serving judges were transferred to. But older judges who had protected membership of the previous scheme and its preferable benefits, could stay in it until they retired or to the end of their period of tapered protection. So the ones who had to be transferred – and which meant they were younger – bought the case on the grounds that it discriminated against them on age. The Tribunal also found that the move discriminated against women and people from ethnic minorities. This has left the Ministry of Justice, which bought in the changes, with some egg on its face. It’s considering whether to appeal. Whether it does or not, this case will be of interest to all businesses considering how best to reform its pensions schemes as more and more of are proving unaffordable. But this case is a cautionary tale of how not to do it!

Tribunal rules against Ministry of Justice in pensions discrimination case

That’s it for another week. Next week – Wednesday 25th January – will be our Monthly Newsround. So make sure you don’t miss it.