The Retailing Blog

An important new report on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

All students following the recent trends for green products, fair trade policies and corporate giving should be interested in an excellent summary of the debate at economist.com

Can you ask that? Well, no, actually…

Consumer group Which? have highlighted evidence that many firms are still asking inappropriate questions on application forms and in job interviews.

The End of the major record labels: nearer than we thought?

There were several blogs in 2007 following the problems in the record industry. A look back over the year shows their decline to be deeper and swifter than even the pessimists imagined. Reasons for this and relevant links are posted here.

More reflections on 2007: Business Best and Worst

As we clear away the festive clutter, here are a couple more links to highlights and lowlights of 2007. The BBC identifies the best and worst performers on global stock markets in what turned out to be a rollercoaster year. The Economist, meanwhile, hands out its ‘Business Oscars’, some of which are pretty funny. It also worth knowing that from now on, all content on www.economist.com is free, for the first year after its publication.

Will you be at work on Christmas Eve?

I doubt it: but maybe you are hoping to get a few double or even triple time shifts in over the ‘festive period’. But are we a nation of Scrooges?

‘Festive cheer’ or promoting ‘binge drinking’?

The UK supermarket sector (especially Tesco) appears to some as the unacceptable face of capitalism. Variously blamed for environmental havoc, obesity, third world poverty, reducing competition, damaging the character of small towns and being ‘too successful’, they are also being blamed for the latest social problem in the media spotlight.

Are staff appraisals a waste of time?

Many workers regard annual appraisals as a waste of time, research from ‘Investors in People’ has suggested. Annual reviews of staff performance are now commonplace in large organisations. Check out the appraisal performed by David Brent in the comedy series ‘The Office’. He is lamely trying to appraise the performance of one of his subordinates. The guy being questioned mostly answers ‘I dunno’ to each question. When he gets asked about his strengths he replies ‘doing accounts’. And what about weaknesses? ‘Eczema’.

Tesco opens for business in the United States

Are our American friends ready for the Tesco juggernaut? Earlier blogs have highlighted the difficulties of successfully expanding retail operations overseas. Have Tesco hit on the right formula to conquer the US market? See some of their plans here.

Got any spare discount e-mail vouchers? Threshers? Gap? Littlewoods?

Christmas comes but once a year, but this story is becoming something of a recent Christmas ‘tradition’. Firms are bracing themselves for the impact of all the discount vouchers swirling round the internet.

How much would you pay for your Radiohead CD?

The last in a recent series of blogs (links included) that has looked at the changes sweeping the music business.

Firms face up to ‘shrinkage’

Businesses have a tough time meeting their targets for profit margins that are often in single digits. And then there is the steady 2% or so of sales that drips away each year through what the trade calls "shrinkage" - and what the rest of us would call theft.

Not so Innocent?

Innocent Smoothies - a popular case study in Business to illustrate the new face of the food and drink industry – have found that they are not immune to criticism. A smoothie advert which claimed the fruit drink could rid the body of toxins has been withdrawn after complaints by the industry watchdog.

Types of ownership: surging profits at the John Lewis Partnership

For those of you starting out on a business course, you might be asking yourself questions about the ‘best’ type of ownership for firms. Not every firm is a straightforward ‘company’.

How the Body Shop changed UK Business

The recent death of the Body Shop’s founder, Anita Roddick, has prompted a flurry of reflection about the ways in which her – then – unique approach to business has filtered into the mainstream.

HMV buck the trend

The music industry – a good one to watch – is going through painful changes as its external environment evolves. Changing technology, population, viewing and listening habits are a huge headache for high street retailers like HMV.

“97% of people on tutor2u look visibly revitalised by using rejuvenating avocado vitamin compounds mixed with extracts of fair trade organic tea tree oil”

An update from the Advertising Standards Authority on some of the preposterous claims made by the cosmetics industry.

Are free music CDs hurting the record industry?

A strange paradox: why is the record industry dying as the music industry itself thrives?

Changing rules for the disposal of e-waste

Legislation that was supposed to be operational by August 2005 but has been delayed by "major difficulties" now comes into force.

Logos that Offend

Barclays may be changing their eagle logo becasue it sends the wrong message overseas. This highlights the problem firms face when words or symbols are translated into other cultures. Warning: this blog links to an article unsuitable for younger readers.

Kwik Save struggles ... and Tesco grows

More updates on the latest moves in the UK grocery market

Young women and the internet marketplace

Surprise findings from a survey that reveals the dominant online group in the UK are 18-34 year old women. This has significant marketing implications...

The 10 most controversial ads of 2006

What's more offensive and likely to provoke complaints? Same-sex kisses? Knives? Religion? Dodgy plumbers?! Find out here, including links to other difficult issues in advertising....

McDonald’s unhappy with dictionary definition

Standard joke: A few years after you leave school, you see a former pupil from your year who was a real loser. What do they say to you as a greeting? – “Do you want fries with that”?

Boom times for John Lewis and Waitrose

Many retailers have been struggling to maintain profits in the face of fierce competition and a slowdown in consumer demand. Many well-known high street businesses have announced profit warnings in recent months including Woolworths and HMV. But staff at the John Lewis Partnership is celebrating their share of a £155m bonus pay-out after a year of record profits

India opens the door to international retailers

There was a really important story in the Sunday Telegraph yesterday about plans to liberalise foreign investment rules for retailers wanting to break into the Indian retail sector.

Online voucher scheme gives Threshers a hangover

Threshers online voucher scheme has been too popular. Or is it a clever and very successful viral marketing scheme?

A great line-up for Business Cafe Live!

Our five speakers at Business Cafe Live should make for a fantastic event for Business and Economics teachers

The Biz Quiz - 26 November 2006

Misleading pricing tactics, employees disputes and a great example of the product life cycle all feature in this weeks Biz Quiz.

The Biz Quiz - 20 November 2006

Retailing, transport policy, old economists, building societies and media companies were all prominent in the business and economics news this week. Test whether you were keeping on top of the news with our weekly Biz Quiz.

M&S and Farepak - Great PR or Great HR?

An interesting development in the Farepak saga as M&S pledge to replace the savings lost by their staff

The Biz Quiz - 10 November 2006

Christmas stamps, business fines and a slighty saucy lingerie story feature in this week's edition of The Biz Quiz - our fun Business and Economics test

Let's Play Business Blockbusters!

Another starter activity for Business Studies. Can I have a P please Bob!

Starter Activity - The Price is Right!

This starter activity focuses on the prices of consumer goods. Students - "come on down!"

The real business cost of online shopping

British businesses are paying the price of letting their employees do their shopping online - during work time!

Fast Fashion - resources for you and your students

The AQA Business Unit 2&3 case study for Jan07 is all about Fast Fashion. Here are some great background resources on this retail phenomenon to get you started

Starter Activity - the Changing Face of Retailing

Use this excellent Sunday Times article as away of introducing key business concepts

The Farepak Farce - Will Customers Be Saved by a Goodwill Gesture?

The timing of the demise of Christmas hamper seller Farepak could not have been timed worse.

Big name retailers begin to spy on eBay

Theft of stock by employees of retail chains is being tracked using software that monitors online auction sites such as eBay

The Biz Quiz - 1 October 2006

Some cracking business and economics news stories this week feature in our popular classroom quiz.

All I want for Christmas is a £50 note...

10% of Christmas presents are returned, sold or swapped. Is it now time to simply hand the cash over to your family and friends?

Excuses for not paying the national minimum wage

UK employers have come up with a wide range of excuses for failing to comply with minimum wage legislation

Have we abandoned our traditional shopkeepers?

A new survey suggests that shopkeepers feel they are increasingly feeling isolated in their fight against criminals with law enforcers abandoning shops to the crooks.

Green Grocers

Sainsbury has announced that it is to put 500 products in compostable packaging as part of its efforts to reduce waste.

Supersize Us

Waistlines are expanding - and so too are womenswear ranges in the shops. But vanity-sizing means size 12 is not what it may seem.

Top of the Shops - Music finds its way into the grocery shopping basket

Further evidence has emerged this week of the increasing proportion of CD's and DVD's being sold by the main grocery supermarkets

Asda removes age from the recruitment process

Asda, one of the top three supermarket groups in the UK, has announced that it will no longer ask people applying for a job at its stores to give their date of birth on their application form.

Sharing profits with customers - the Co-op brings back its "divi"

The Co-op has announced the launch of a new profit-share loyalty scheme as part of its £100m rebranding initiative

Product Pricing, Product Sabotage, and Starbuck's Secret Drink

Tim Harford's great new business series on BBC2 has highlighted the practice of product sabotage as a common method of product pricing and promotion

M&S Hit the Jackpot with Look Behind the Label

A recent promotional campaign by retailer Marks and Spencer focusing on the environmentally and socially-friendly nature of their product range has proved highly successful.

Digital Killed the Radio Star

Online electrical retailer Dixons has announced that it will no longer sell analogue radios.

Online Shop Owners Strike Against eBay

Hundreds of eBay-based shop owners staged a one-day strike in protest at new pricing policies brought in by eBay and at changes which made their auction listings less visible to eBay's 15 million UK customers.

Managers Rebel Against Store TV

Rebellion in the shopping aisles! it is claimed that Tesco staff have resorted to tampering with the supermarket's in-store TV network, Tesco TV, and in some cases have switched off the screens.

Tesco plastic bag incentives dismissed as a "greenwash"

Supermarket giant Tesco has unveiled plans to offer shoppers a financial incentive to use fewer plastic carrier bags. But environmentalists have criticised the plan, saying that it will do little to address the problems of landfill.

Cadbury's product recall leaves a sour taste

Cadbury Schweppes has revealed that its recent product recall will cost an estimated £20m.