John Lewis is named the retailer with the strongest reputation March 19, 2015 Middle-class shoppers’ favourite John Lewis was yesterday declared the retailer with the best reputation in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), a survey found. The survey, by the Reputation Institute, also showed that among the firms whose reputation had improved the most between 2013 and 2014 were WH Smith and H&M. However, there was bad [...]
Outgoing Waitrose boss Mark Price appointed trade minister for foreign office and BIS February 10, 2016 Waitrose' outgoing chief executive Mark Price has been appointed trade minister at the foreign office and the department for business, innovation and skills (BIS), the government has announced. Price will take up the role in April after the appointment was approved by the Queen today. He will replace Lord Maude who has announced plans to step down next month after [...]
These are the best shops on the British high street: Lush, John Lewis, Apple, Fenwick and Home Bargains make the top 10 May 25, 2015 The customer is king when it comes to winning amid an increasingly competitive retail landscape. Excellent customer service standards helped small independents make the biggest gains in an annual survey of favourite high street shops by consumer watchdog Which?. Independent DIY and decorating stores experienced a huge rise, coming third overall, or 83 places higher than last year. [...]
Sir Martin Sorrell’s salary: How long would it take you to earn the WPP boss’s proposed £70m pay? March 13, 2016 Sir Martin Sorrell, the highest paid boss of the FTSE as chief of advertising giant WPP, is in line for an even bigger bumper payout that will leave him earning a more-than healthy £190,000 each day. Assuming a 12 hour working day, that potential £70m would be the equivalent of more than £15,000 per hour – more than the [...]
Bonus at John Lewis drops on Waitrose sales March 12, 2015 JOHN Lewis Partnership slashed staff bonuses to 11 per cent of pay, the lowest level for 12 years, after profits fell at its grocery chain Waitrose. The partnership’s 93,800 employees will receive a total pay out of £156.2m, which is equivalent to nearly six weeks’ salary. The supermarket price war, a deflationary market and a significantly [...]
Britain’s 20 most attractive employers are … John Lewis, BMW, British Airways April 8, 2015 We spend the vast majority of our waking lives at work. And yet so many of us grumble about where we work, spend our lives worrying about job security and sometimes end up dedicating our evenings and weekends to getting the job done too. So it might be worth taking note of a new survey [...]
Simba Sleep’s James Cox talks firmness, pet names and the importance of conical springs in mattresses June 13, 2016 Within minutes of meeting James Cox, co-founder of innovative mattress company Simba Sleep, I’m drawing a diagram of his product – or my interpretation of it as he whizzes through its composition. Rather than the traditional springs or trendy memory foam, Simba’s mattress is a layer cake of unique ID foam, some memory and a conical [...]
Ad agencies need better advertising: 101’s Laurence Green on why positioning should be more important than pitching June 20, 2016 Our industry conversation has swung too far from long-term to short, from strategy to tactics, and away from the alchemical power of great creative,” says Laurence Green, founder of creative agency 101. He has been critical in the past of the fact that pitching has become the default method for procuring agencies’ services. And he believes [...]
Analysts applaud Dave Lewis’ efforts to turn around Tesco October 5, 2016 Tesco posted a 0.6 per cent increase in UK like-for-like sales this morning and analysts have been reacting well to chief executive Dave Lewis' efforts to revive the embattled retailer. And the market seems to agree with them, with the retailer's share price jumping nine per cent in early morning trading. Lewis has been managing [...]
Debenhams’s share price rises as chief executive Michael Sharp formally resigns – but there’s no sign of a successor just yet April 14, 2016 Debenhams' share price climbed 3.4 per cent this morning as it revealed half-year growth while confirming it is "well advanced" in finding a new chief executive. Michael Sharp today submitted his resignation to the board, Debenhams said. It was originally announced that he planned to step down in October last year, but today's move takes that process [...]