Inside Amazon’s Black Friday operations hub: How the e-commerce giant prepares for its busiest day of the year November 29, 2019 Where could be a better place to witness the behind-the-scenes impact of Black Friday than at the heart of Amazon’s UK warehouse operations? Some of the credit – or perhaps, blame – for the annual shopping event’s popularity in Britain surely lies with the US e-commerce giant. The fulfilment centre – which is the size [...]
Morgan Stanley boss: Eating out? Then you can come in to the office June 15, 2021 Morgan Stanley chief executive James Gorman sent a strong message to staff in the US who are reluctant to return to their desks, saying, “If you can go into a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office.” “By Labor Day, I’ll be very disappointed if people haven’t found their way into [...]
DUP’s Sammy Wilson warns Westminster that Northern Ireland will have its voice heard loud and clear in Brexit negotiations November 24, 2019 Boris Johnson may be going all-in to get a Conservative majority this election, but the jury is very much still out as to whether he will achieve his aim. Many in Westminster believe that despite the polling numbers, come the morning of 13 December the country will find itself saddled with yet another hung parliament. [...]
Fitness advice: How desk jockey office workers can combat the scourge of sitting, dubbed by some the ‘new smoking’ April 11, 2019 Most of my clients spend the majority of their waking hours at work. This invariably means hours chained behind a desk with very little movement. Throw in relatively poor nutrition and you have a situation where your lifestyle can start to really affect your health. Spread this scenario over many years and problems can grow [...]
Theresa May’s rule change kicked foreign graduates like me out – now Boris is reversing the injustice September 13, 2019 It is easy to poke fun at wonks who love public policy. Digging down into the specific details of the Common Agricultural Policy, stamp duty land tax, or the Swiss healthcare system doesn’t always make for sexy headlines or punchy commentary. But what the wonks know, which is so often overlooked, is that even if [...]
Swim with manta rays and dine on lobster curries at the Maldivian island resort of Vakkaru March 3, 2020 Any island resort staffer can say “welcome to paradise”, but when it comes from a seaplane pilot with no shoes on it feels more like a religious ritual than a tired cliche. It’s contagious, as the staff at Maldivian island resort Vakkaru can vouch for, guests – certainly me – ditch the formality and stress [...]
The best and worst ads of 2019 December 16, 2019 It has been a year of highs and lows for adland. PRs, creative agencies, and brands will be examining their advertising efforts this month, and while some will be pleased with their work, others will be looking to improve next year. To help with this process, I asked members of the marketing industry and other [...]
DEBATE: With the launch of KFC’s vegan burger, is it smart for fast-food brands to move into veganism? June 19, 2019 With the launch of KFC’s vegan burger, is it smart for fast-food brands to move into veganism? Caroline Dilloway, client service director at StormBrands, says YES. The new vegan burger is undoubtedly a smart move for KFC, and it won’t be the last fast-food brand to move into this space. The incredible rise of consumers [...]
Focus on Victoria: Once just a train station, this central postcode now has an identity all its own October 25, 2019 There was a time not so long ago when Victoria was a train station, not an area. You could be ‘near Victoria station,’ but not ‘in Victoria’. Happily, it’s now made the transition thanks to an explosion of new bars, shops, offices and restaurants which have put the district firmly on the map. “For many [...]
Comcast grows revenue and profit thanks to broadband boost July 25, 2019 Comcast has posted a rise in revenue and profit for the second quarter as an increase in broadband customers helped offset a decline in its TV business. The US media group posted revenue of $26.9bn (£21.5bn) in the three months to the end of June, up 24 per cent on the same period last year. [...]