THE HUB RECRUITMENT’S WEEKLY NEWS SNIPPETS
- Date: 23 March 2016
- Posted By: admin
The Hub Retail Recruitment’s weekly news snippet is here as usual, but we issue our blog with heavy hearts after yesterday’s atrocities in Brussels. Having lived through 7/7 in London, we really can say we know how terrible it is. Our thoughts are with all those affected.
Such an atrocity raises anxiety in us all with fears of what might happen next. At this time of year, as many of us are planning Easter breaks, or booking our summer holidays, we understandably worry about the risk of travelling when something like this happens. The effect on travel and tourism has had an immediate adverse effect on those markets. This article explains:
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/mar/22/travel-tourism-holidays-shares-sink-tourism-europe
THE BUDGET & ONLINE VAT DODGING: Well, this has turned out to be quite a circus of a budget. We could say much about the twists and turns since Mr Osborne presented his budget and all the various political fallouts. But we’ll keep it focused on an issue which has had little coverage. The Chancellor is closing a loophole which many firms felt resulted in unfair competition. This loophole has until this budget allowed some overseas online retailers to avoid paying VAT. Read here the full – although succinct – document that explains about this issue:
BREXIT WILL HIT RETAILERS MOST: The credit ratings agency Moody’s has said that it believes the biggest risk to Britain leaving the EU would be to retailers, restaurants, and food and drink companies. It’s based this view on predicting slower economic growth for British companies due to several potential changes, such as trade barriers and constraints on migration. This is a good article that sets out Moody’s view more fully:
ARGOS/HOME RETAIL GROUP TAKEOVER: We’ve been following this story for a couple of weeks now, and it took another turn last week when Steinhoff bowed out of the race in favour of buying Darty’s. Apparently Sainsbury’s has matched that bid, so it would be surprising if it wasn’t successful. However, experts are estimating that if the takeover does go ahead, 330 Argos stores will close as Sainsbury’s moves it into an online retailer. This story explains more.
http://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2016/03/sainsburys-takeover-threatens-to-close-330-argos-outlets
That’s our roundup for this week. Next week – 30 March – will be our Monthly Newsround, so do look out for it. Between now and then it is of course Easter, in the middle of which the clocks go forward. Here at The Hub Retail Recruitment we wish you a very happy Easter weekend.