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.
Business News Analysis
In trying to encourage my students to engage with real-world news stories, I have made a simple grid (see below) which gets them to think about how key business topics and theories apply to...
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...
The Biz Quiz - 3 February 2017
The latest version of the Biz Quiz is now ready to attempt!
BTEC Business Cafe: Q&A with Colin Leith Webinar Recording
Here is the recording of the recent BTEC Business Cafe Q&A webinar with Colin Leith (Pearson Edexcel).
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.
Technological Change: Is the End Nigh for Baristas?
Automation using robotics continues to extend well beyond manufacturing production lines. Could the service sector be next to experience a robotic revolution.
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...
The 48 Laws of Power
“Court attention at all costs”, “learn to keep people dependent on you” and the lovely number 15, “crush your enemies completely”! These are just three of the laws from Robert Greene’s...
The Biz Quiz - 30 January 2017
The Biz Quiz returns with 10 questions on the recent business & economics news!
How Fit is the Fitness Industry?
This short two-minute video from The Economist would make a great lesson starter to introduce students to some key data on the fast-growing global fitness industry.
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...