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In the News
Tracking Provenance using Blockchain Technology
For many consumers, the provenance of the products they buy is an increasingly important non-price factor influencing the choices they make in markets.
Tesco special offers past their Sell-by Date
If you go into a Tesco store today, you are likely to find that all the staff are out on the shop floor checking their Special Offer labels on the shelves. They have been caught out by a BBC...
Pimlico Plumbers lose case over worker rights
Another gig economy story, but this time the 'worker' has won. In this case, the plumber concerned, Gary Smith, won the right to re-negotiate his contract after he'd had a heart attack. His...
The Ultimate in Business Hedging?
Perhaps this is the ultimate in hedging behaviour - the owner of Durex is buying a company that makes baby food!! What can possibly go wrong?
Delayering and Culture Change at Waitrose
Waitrose is in the headlines with news that it is removing a layer from its store organisational hierarchy as well as closing six under-performing stores.
How would you turn around the fortunes of The Body Shop?
A great article on the BBC website about a brand that lost its way.
Do 6 Hour Working Days Improve Performance?
The results of a Swedish study of the impact of shortening the working day on productivity is about to be published and I'm sure it's going to make for interesting reading.
The $99 Billion Idea: How Uber and Airbnb Won
Fantastic Bloomberg piece - of some length - about the rise of Uber and Airbnb and their regulatory travails - this looks at the emergence of the so-called 'gig economy' and the extent to which...
Business Rates and the survival of Small Retailers
This article looks at the impact of the uprating of business rates on small retailers.
Netflix and the importance of non-price competition
Here is a great chart to emphasise the importance of non-price competition in markets. Netflix ranks highly against their competitors in terms of service reliability, ease of use and quality of...
Reckitt Benckiser bids for baby formula maker Mead Johnson
Another merger on the cards: Reckitt-Benckiser, the conglomerate, is looking to add US baby formula manufacturer, Mead Johnson.
Inspiring support for Syrian refugees at Ikea
Ikea operate in 52 countries around the world, including Jordan in the Middle East. They also have a very strong approach to CSR, with the Ikea Foundation aiming "... to improve opportunities for...
Retrenchment at Fitbit
Fitbit, the global market leader in the fitness wearables industry, is looking to reduce operating costs by $200m a year. As a result it is to reduce the size of its global workforce by 6%.
Why did #DeleteUber start trending?
If you needed any proof of the difficulty for businesses that try to keep up with the external environment, here it is.
Ocean plastics and CSR
A good recycling story here. Ocean plastics are notoriously hard to recycle but it seems that P&G are the latest company to try and utilise this resource, and try to make the recycling of this...
Tesco acquires Booker to become UK biggest food business
Tesco is spending £3.7bn in a deal to buy the UK's largest cash and carry business Booker. Actually there is much more to Booker than being an old-style wholesaler; as is customary the boards of...
Fake Lego fools Lego's Chinese Boss!
China produces around 80% of the world's counterfeit goods by value - despite a 2014 crackdown. These goods now include fake Lego - the Danish group opened a factory there last year and,...
Enterprise boxing clever
Setting up a new business requires keeping costs within control, as well as finding premises that suit the needs of the business while being in the right location for the target market. A great way...
The net contribution of whisky to the British economy
Here is an enticing demonstrationenticing demonstration of why it always serve to look at 'net' figures when trying to work out the impact of industries on the economy as a whole.
How can business keep Globalisation alive?
The Boston Consulting Group regularly publishes BCG Perspectives, with article examining topics of broad interest and deep importance for business strategy. One of their latest articles looks at...
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