THE HUB RETAIL RECRUITMENT’S WEEKLY NEWS SNIPPETS
- Date: 8 June 2016
- Posted By: admin
Well, what a week it’s been. BHS has gone into liquidation along with Austin Reed; Mike Ashley appeared before Parliament yesterday; and Sainsbury’s sales have gone down again. Our stories this week relate to all of this: Sir Philip Green & Mike Ashley – under the Parliamentary cosh; difficult times at Sainsbury’s; and Women don’t want senior retail jobs.
Sir Philip Green & Mike Ashley – under the Parliamentary cosh: We wonder why there’s so much Parliamentary scrutiny of the part Philip Green played in BHS’s demise, and in the working conditions for people at Sports Direct. We’re not saying it’s a bad thing – but if laws have been broken, why are formal proceedings not being bought to bear? It feels like a repeat of what happened with the bankers – lots of appearances before Parliamentary committees – but to what effect for those people whose lives have been damaged because of sharp practices? Here’s a couple of really good articles that summarise the mauling of Philip Green at his appearance this week; and an amusing one on Mike Ashley’s yesterday. Let’s hope there’s real consequences this time around if allegedly unscrupulous people have broken the law.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/06/07/was-that-the-real-mike-ashley-in-front-of-mps-shareholders-will/
Difficult times at Sainsbury’s: So, Sainsbury’s sales have dipped again by 0.8%. A shame after it had increased its sales in the previous quarter. But the retailer says that, against it’s competitors this isn’t bad given that it’s really tough out there. And that top line figure doesn’t show how its convenience stores sales up by 6% and on-line shopping up by 8% (thanks to a new app). But commentators think that Sainsbury’s is suffering from reming its BOGOF offers. On another front the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) is looking at whether Sainsbury’s purchase of Argos (Home Retail Group) is see it would lead to “a substantial lessening of competition” for consumers. All this is obviously keeping Chief Executive Mike Coupe very busy. We think the CMA will give the green light for the purchase, and that Sainsbury’s sales will steady. Let’s see if we’re right over the coming weeks.
http://www.theweek.co.uk/sainsburys/65514/sainsburys-could-reveal-more-poor-sales-figures-this-week
Women don’t want senior retail jobs: There’s an interesting study just been published looking at why there’s so few women in senior jobs in the retail industry – 10% on executive boards; and 20% on management teams – even though the gender breakdown across the industry is 60% women! The research – carried out by Women in Retail and Elixirr – included John Lewis, Tesco, Asos and Boots. And it would seem that women aren’t progressing at the same rate as men because of a lack of: flexible working; female role models; and personal confidence. Have a read of this article and see if you think this shameful situation is likely to change and the industry really will embrace women in the Boardroom.
Well, that’s it for this week. We hope you found something of interest – and please note that we haven’t mentioned the EU referendum. Oops, just did! We’ll be back again next Wednesday – 15 June. In the meantime, do let us have your thoughts and comments.