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Positive Improvement for UK Finances

By Jessie Wilkens on September 29, 2013 in

UK finances actually showed a modest improvement in August according to official data, showing a promise for the economic recovery. However, as the Office for Budget Responsibility pointed out, there is still “significant uncertainty” with the prospects for full year borrowing.

As Martin Beck of Capital Economics explained, “Following a run of disappointing monthly public sector borrowing numbers, August’s public finances data suggest that the economic recovery could be finally starting to make its presence felt in the fiscal numbers.” From April to August of this year, for instance, the central government receipts were £236.5bn, £18.4bn higher than during the same period the year before.

The Treasury said: “The economy is turning a corner, but there is a long way to go and the government is sticking to the economic plan that has already cut the deficit by a third and enabled the private sector to create over 1.4m new jobs.”

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Positive Outlook for British Manufacturers

By Jessie Wilkens on September 2, 2013 in

The manufacturers’ organization EEF and accountants BDO have found that 33% of British manufacturers have seen an increase in the last three months. This is the highest that they have seen since 2010, and is up 12% in the last quarter.  The highest number of orders came from UK-made electrical equipment and from motor vehicles.

Manufacturers expect the orders from both the domestic and export markets to increase by 24% and 19% respectively in the next quarter. EEF chief economist Lee Hopley said, “Industry’s prospects have brightened considerably in the past few months and it’s particularly positive that this improving trend can be seen across all manufacturing sectors. Here is growing confidence that improving trading conditions will continue into the final months of this year and then accelerate through the gears in 2014.”

He continued, “However as companies become more confident about their growth prospects, we need to see that translate into commitments to invest in new capacity and for this to take place in the UK.”

The head of manufacturing at BDO added to these comments when he said, “UK manufacturers across all sectors and throughout our supply chain are feeling the benefits of an impressive return to confidence. But this is not ‘manufacturing sector – job done’ for the Government. We must use it as a strong foundation to ensure the sector acts as an engine of change for the UK economy.”

As Don Williams, the national head of retail and wholesale at BDO, said, “This has been a strong month. This time last year, the feel-good factor came from the Olympics but this year it is being prompted by the change in tone in the media and consumers less fearful of imminent restructurings and redundancy.”

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Katy Bell Handbags Taking Off

By Jessie Wilkens on August 12, 2013 in

If you’re in the market for a handbag, you just might want to check out up and coming entrepreneur Katy Bell. Bell makes her “upcycled” bags out of materials like old coffee bean sacks and damaged boat sails. A graduate in textiles from Central St. Martins College of Art and Design, she won an order with the London department store Liberty after attending an open day there a number of years ago.

Her firm, Lost Property of London, is run from a studio in Islington, North London. She sells her range on her website and also to Fortnum & Mason department stores.

When she recently won the order for 250 bags at Liberty, she said, “I was thrilled, but panicked about how to fund it. Luckily, my bank agreed an overdraft and I roped in friends and family to meet the order.”

Her bags are all made in the UK with the manufacturing in North London.  As spokeswoman Emma Jones said, “What we are finding is that businesses which are building an online brand have found a short-term burst in bricks and mortar is an attractive proposition.”

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Wool and the Gang: A Company Worth Watching

By Jessie Wilkens on July 28, 2013 in

Wool and the GangIf you haven’t yet heard about Wool and the Gang, you probably will soon. Anyone who has ever thought that knitters were grannies sitting around the old age home will have to reconsider their image with this fashion label. Wool and the Gang has recently raised £1.8?million from venture capital firms in order to expand online and develop a global network of knitters.

Based in Dalston, East London, they use individual knitters in Peru to make specialized and unique items. Their chief executive, Lisa Rodwell, is now looking to recruit as many as 50 knitters in the UK to launch a new range. They supply all of their knitters with raw materials which are then returned to the company for retail sale. As Rodwell said,  “We want to produce unique pieces in a timely manner but never from a factory in an unsustainable way.”

It’s certainly worthwhile to keep an eye on Wool and the Gang. As they explain on their website, “Our vision is to offer unique fast fashion in a sustainable way by re-booting home manufacturing. When you buy fashion, we believe you should know what it’s made with, how it’s made and by whom.”

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Take a Ticket to Get to the Top

By Jessie Wilkens on July 11, 2013 in

Ortus, a HR recruitment specialist, has recently reported that one in six board members in the FTSE 100 are over the age of 65. The average age for board members is 57. The oldest board belongs to gold and silver miner Fresnillo, with an average age for their board members of 65.

Capita, a services group, has the youngest board, with an average age of about 50. WM Morrison supermarket has a CEO who is only 45 and Tesco has one who is 53.

The research also looked at the female board members and found that they were younger than the male board members. Their average age was 55, compared to 59 for men. At Aberdeen Asset Management they have a board member who is only 40, Julie Chakraverty. The oldest female board member is at Pearson’s, with an age of 67.

With older colleagues continue to work much later than they used to, younger professionals are worried that they will be waiting longer and longer to make their way to the top. 37% of the 500 professionals who were interviewed with Ortus reported that they have resigned from their last job to advance their career prospects.

As Stephen Menko, the UK Director or Ortus said, “A lengthy spell learning the ropes for any top job further down the line, no doubt equips you better than having the most senior roles thrust at you early on in a career. Increasingly however, generation Y are hungry for seniority before their time. In an age where global organizations can be led by twenty-somethings such as 28 year-old Mark Zuckerberg, aspiration for rapid advancement has never been higher.”

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Seraphine Sales Rise When Kate Eyes Their Maternity Wear

By Jessie Wilkens on June 30, 2013 in

All it takes, really, is one glance and you just might quadruple your sales. This is the case for Maternity brand Seraphine. They saw their sales leap recently after Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge was seen admiring their clothes. Yes, that’s what we wrote. She wasn’t seen wearing the brand or buying the brand – but just admiring it.

Sales of their £39 Brooke dress actually quadrupled after the Duchess was said to have liked that item, said Seraphine founder Cecile Reinaud. Total sales of their brand were up 40% in March, when Kate was linked to the brand. Since hinting that she enjoyed the brand, she has bought 12 dresses from the company.

Seraphine is cashing in on her interest, splashing adds on London buses that read, “Is it a girl? Is it a boy?” As Reinaud said, ‘The Kate effect is worldwide.  ‘From China, Russia to South Africa, sales are boosted  due to the fact she chose our brand to dress her Royal bump.’

Seraphine has four London outlets and internet business in 30 countries. And they can certainly thank Kate for their recent business.

 

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Spotlight on Amazon UK

By Jessie Wilkens on June 10, 2013 in

The spotlight is on Amazon at the moment as it has recently been uncovered that their low level of reported sales and profits in the UK isn’t all that it appears to be. Amazon is apparently directing its sales through the tax haven of Luxembourg, and ensuring that it pays only 4.5% tax on its European profits, rather than the 24% that it would be paying it if registered those profits in Britain.

British consumers account for approximately half of all of the European sales that the company has, and yet the UK accounts have shown very low reported sales. MoS recently unearthed these Luxembourg figures, confirming that Amazon is avoiding a large tax bill by shifting their earnings there.

Both Amazon and Google have recently become the target of public and political anger over these issues, and the US and French tax authorities may start looking into the situation.

As an Amazon spokesman said, “We pay all applicable taxes in every jurisdiction we operate in. We have a single European headquarters in Luxembourg with hundreds of staff to manage this complex operation.”

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Unexpected Phone Expenses? Blame Your Kids

By Jessie Wilkens on May 24, 2013 in

According to new data out by Windows Phone, children who buy apps without permission or make accidental purchase on their parent’s smartphone are costing parents £30million nationally.

More than 25% of parents with smartphones have had this problem and 80% have seen larger than usual bills as a result. Interestingly, the research found that the biggest culprits are eight year olds. They are old enough to run up the high bills but not quite old enough to understand what they are doing. The research showed that these 8 year olds, on average, are adding £59.59 to their parent’s bill.

Children as young as four and under have also made purchases, accounting for 36% of the kids causing problems with the phones.

The head of consumer marketing for Windows Phone, Brett Siddons, said, “Our research reveals parents are worried about the impact of app and in-app purchases on their bills and we understand the stress this can cause. With technology becoming more and more intuitive, it’s important that parents can trust in the technology they use and feel as safe as possible when handing over their smartphone and tablet devices to their children.”

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Plunging Retail Prices in the UK

By Jessie Wilkens on May 7, 2013 in

The good news is that you can now purchase clothing items for a bit less money, according to recent figures. The bad news is that food prices, however, continue to rise.

According to recent figures, retailers have been slashing their prices to draw in customers. Retailer price inflation was at its lowest level since 2009 last month, with the rate falling to just .4%.

The British Retail Consortium reports, however, that food prices continue to rise. The rate fell to 3.5% from 2.9% the month before.

As Helen Dickinson, the BRC director general explained, “In April, overall shop price inflation was sharply down on the previous month, to its lowest for three and a half years, as a result of retailers working harder on promotions to encourage customers and the easing of some commodity costs. In particular, price competition on non-food goods intensified in the face of average incomes rising at their slowest for more than a decade and poor demand for seasonal products. Spring lines, in fashion and gardening for example, have not taken off in the way they did last year because warmer weather has been much more reluctant to take hold.”

Mike Watkins, the head of retailer and business insight at Nielsen, said, “The good news for shoppers is that, aside from some seasonal price changes, there is a trend of price reduction in many food categories and price deflation in non-foods. Retailers will now be looking to keep prices competitive over the next few weeks to keep whatever momentum there is in sales growth going, and for high street retailers this could require summer discounts to start sooner rather than later.”

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QVC Celebrates 20 Years

By Jessie Wilkens on April 28, 2013 in

One of the hottest business trends in the UK will be celebrating its birthday in October. The home shopping channel QVC saw more than 15 million orders placed in 2012, generating revenue of £403.7 million.

They buy their products from entrepreneurs and businesses and then sell them for a mark-up. They broadcast 17 hours a day and have recorded shows on the other seven hours. Their top selling beauty brands include Liz Earle, L’Occitane, Kim & Co., Kipling and others.

They are now finding that the mobile and online orders are growing by leaps and bounds, as their website and smartphone apps orders accounted for 26% of their net revenue in 2012.

As Dermot Boyd, chief executive of QVC UK said, “Mobile is the fastest growing platform and that includes tablets. But TV viewing has gone up too. The important thing is we can be on both screens: TV and tablets. Tablets and mobiles reinforce the TV platform, and we are streaming on the web too.”

QVC was actually founded in 1986 in the United States by entrepreneur Joseph Segel. It was launched in the UK in 1993. It is, today, available to 26.7 million homes in the UK.

When asked why QVC appears to be doing so well when so many are struggling, Boyd said,

“One of the reasons behind our success is our typical viewer demographic, which is women aged over 30. There is less competition in this age range and they have more money. There is also an entertainment value, we have national coverage and a sales force of 20 presenters who are very popular with viewers. Our customers tend to be loyal. QVC was a winner in the Nineties’ recession and we would hope to be a winner in this one too.”

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