What's going to collapse next...

[sancho panza]

https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2020/01/hundreds-iceland-jobs-risk-amid-management-structure/

Iceland has launched a review of its management structure, in a move that could see “hundreds” of jobs axed.

The review has reportedly started, with a formal consultation process expected to be launched within weeks.

The frozen food retailer denied any plans for “major reductions” across its 25,000-strong UK workforce.

[Chewing Grass]

Every employer is slowly realising that they have too many managers indulging in management creation schemes.

Lots of genuinely talentless individuals will be looking for jobs in the next 12 months.

 

[TheCountOfNowhere]

12 minutes ago, Chewing Grass said:

Every employer is slowly realising that they have too many overpaid managers with large mortgages and Levered BTL portfolios indulging in management creation schemes.

Lots of genuinely talentless individuals will be looking for jobs in the next 12 months.

 

That's about 2000 uskess middle aged mangers lost their jobs recently. That's the housing pyramid gone. 

[spygirl]

8 hours ago, sancho panza said:

https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2020/01/hundreds-iceland-jobs-risk-amid-management-structure/

Iceland has launched a review of its management structure, in a move that could see “hundreds” of jobs axed.

The review has reportedly started, with a formal consultation process expected to be launched within weeks.

The frozen food retailer denied any plans for “major reductions” across its 25,000-strong UK workforce.

I normally walk by an Iceland at 6.30pmish, on my home from work.

Its shut. I think it closes at ~5ish.

Either Iceland mananagment are idiots.

Or they know their customers dont work.

IIRC Iceland are owned by some PE/family buyout.

 

 

[spygirl]

8 hours ago, Chewing Grass said:

Every employer is slowly realising that they have too many managers indulging in management creation schemes.

Lots of genuinely talentless individuals will be looking for jobs in the next 12 months.

 

Bit like the early 90s recession.

A lot of sector got rid of huge numbers of mangers, aged 40-50.

I started at a company in 92ish, In 93 they have a proper review i.e one not done by management.

About 50 out of a site pop of ~120 went.

My work became a lot easier afters. And I got a better chair. And a parking space, which I could not use as they refused to give me a car.

 

[spygirl]

Active fund managers

https://www.ft.com/content/6f462266-3df7-11ea-b232-000f4477fbca

A star British stockpicker has apologised for making too big a bet on Wirecard, the German payments group facing questions over its accounting practices.

Alexander Darwall, who quit UK asset manager Jupiter last year to set up his own fund business, at one point had more than 17 per cent of his £1bn investment trust in the high-flying payments company that was propelled into Germany’s prestigious Dax index in 2018.

 

 

[TheCountOfNowhere]

We're at the end of this business cycle....

 

Norton Motorcycles goes into administration

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/business-51303905#click=https://t.co/NwnBvPogBA

 

This is wheelie sad. 

Edited January 29, 2020 by TheCountOfNowhere

[MrXxxx]

10 hours ago, TheCountOfNowhere said:

We're at the end of this business cycle....

 

Norton Motorcycles goes into administration

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/business-51303905#click=https://t.co/NwnBvPogBA

 

This is wheelie sad. 

Could they not have been bailed out by the Government?...sorry I mean given longer to pay their tax bill?...no, I can see that idea would never `take off`!...

...& as for Mr Gardner, I think we can be quite sure that it's going to be some time before we see him on the Dragons Den panel looking at his business acumen!

[TheCountOfNowhere]

3 hours ago, MrXxxx said:

Could they not have been bailed out by the Government?...sorry I mean given longer to pay their tax bill?...no, I can see that idea would never `take off`!...

 

Too little to be helped to pretend to succeed. 

 

[sancho panza]

6 hours ago, MrXxxx said:

Could they not have been bailed out by the Government?...sorry I mean given longer to pay their tax bill?...no, I can see that idea would never `take off`!...

...& as for Mr Gardner, I think we can be quite sure that it's going to be some time before we see him on the Dragons Den panel looking at his business acumen!

Quite.It's scandalous.It's not what you know etc...

[spunko]

On 31/12/2019 at 22:47, Tdog said:

Come on be a suave cunt for 2 years, come 2022 you may have some bird in the family way and the best you'll get then is whichever car she doesnt want to drive!

Just catching up on the latest with this, Aston Martin used prices appear to have plunged, as the new ones have to be priced cheaper in order to sell them. Nobody wants a used Aston if they can get a new one for £500 more...

 

Here's an example:

https://heycar.co.uk/vehicle/aston-martin-vantage-2019-2dr-zf-8-speed-auto-7fa1e905

Assuming they bought it at full list price, that has lost £55k in 6 months.

[spygirl]

On 27/01/2020 at 09:40, spygirl said:

Still stand by Bourmouth.

Beales gone.

Amigo imploding.

Once JP mortgan start laying off then - poof!

 

 

https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/18197871.bournemouth-ranked-fourth-congested-place-uk/

[spygirl]

On 29/01/2020 at 21:12, TheCountOfNowhere said:

We're at the end of this business cycle....

 

Norton Motorcycles goes into administration

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/business-51303905#click=https://t.co/NwnBvPogBA

 

This is wheelie sad. 

Jesus.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/30/taken-for-a-ride-how-norton-motorcycles-collapsed-amid-acrimony-and-scandal

https://www.loughboroughecho.net/news/local-news/george-osbornes-norton-motorcycle-job-9745392

[TheCountOfNowhere]

1 hour ago, spygirl said:

Jesus.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/30/taken-for-a-ride-how-norton-motorcycles-collapsed-amid-acrimony-and-scandal

https://www.loughboroughecho.net/news/local-news/george-osbornes-norton-motorcycle-job-9745392

Got to wonder

[Hardhat]

16 hours ago, spunko said:

Assuming they bought it at full list price, that has lost £55k in 6 months.

Are you sure it wasn't just the colour? 

[spygirl]

16 hours ago, spunko said:

Just catching up on the latest with this, Aston Martin used prices appear to have plunged, as the new ones have to be priced cheaper in order to sell them. Nobody wants a used Aston if they can get a new one for £500 more...

 

Here's an example:

https://heycar.co.uk/vehicle/aston-martin-vantage-2019-2dr-zf-8-speed-auto-7fa1e905

Assuming they bought it at full list price, that has lost £55k in 6 months.

Ratner-esque.

 

[Hardhat]

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/billionaire-stroll-takes-major-stake-aston-martin

[spunko]

58 minutes ago, Hardhat said:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/billionaire-stroll-takes-major-stake-aston-martin

Geely own Lotus who I thought had gone bust years ago. I was just perusing their website, they're still charging £80k for a Lotus Evora - not changed at all since about 2004. Mental.

Why would anyone buy this over a Porsche 911?

[spunko]

Another tidbit about Aston Martin, even though they have been 'rescued' by a billionaire, the finance companies have apparently written down the future minimum guaranteed value by about another 10%. Why would they do this, for any reason other than they expect the prices of used Astons to sink even further? Mental. 

[sleepwello'nights]

Probably because the new Vantage is so ugly. I don't want one.

[spygirl]

On 27/01/2020 at 22:24, sancho panza said:

https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2020/01/hundreds-iceland-jobs-risk-amid-management-structure/

Iceland has launched a review of its management structure, in a move that could see “hundreds” of jobs axed.

The review has reportedly started, with a formal consultation process expected to be launched within weeks.

The frozen food retailer denied any plans for “major reductions” across its 25,000-strong UK workforce.

Iceland is tiny as shops go. But they still havd 25k workers.

Tesco have 450k

Sainsbury 200k

Asda 165k

Morrisons 110k

The unions make a big fuss about reduction of union members - fatcher n all that.

But its pretty obvious the unions have never really engaged with where tge eorkers, just where they were and the public sector.

Imagine an all out strike of supermarket workers.

[Bedrag Justesen]

2 hours ago, spunko said:

Why would they do this, for any reason other than they expect the prices of used Astons to sink even further? Mental. 

Red Bull have announced they are releasing Aston Martin from certain clauses in their contract.

All works towards Racing Point becoming the 2021 Aston Martin F1 team.

A combination of Stroll investment and the halo effect of being in F1 more visibly could see more buyers for Aston Martin cars.

Much of the appeal for Aston Martin, and Lotus, buyers, is nostalgia, but as we have seen with Norton the air can be pretty thin up there.

Whether the fifty-something+ will buy an electric Aston made in Wales remains to be seen.

Driving an ICE into towns and cities is going to be made deplorable.

[spygirl]

On 09/01/2020 at 12:27, spygirl said:

FT article.

https://www.ft.com/content/2992c166-325d-11ea-9703-eea0cae3f0de

Comments are, rightly,  slagging off the upper level managment n board.

Theyve been gucked up by a hooray ex asrmy type:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Mayfield

Bally Hell, John Lewis are great! We can take over the world ...

Theye also just kicked out the stores MD:

https://www.ft.com/content/164a2d74-9ac1-11e6-8f9b-70e3cabccfae

An internal appointment, showing that whatever JL needs it not really going to found in the ranks.

The incoming CEO is beyond a fucking joke:

https://www.ft.com/content/72822108-8855-11e9-97ea-05ac2431f453

John Lewis has appointed Sharon White, a telecoms regulator with no retail experience, as its new chairman, marking the first time the group has picked an external candidate for its most senior executive role. Ms White, who has run Ofcom, the UK telecoms and media regulator, for the past four years, will replace Charlie Mayfield when he steps down in early 2020. She will earn a basic salary of £990,000, more than double her pay at Ofcom. The former Treasury official is an economist by training and has no previous experience in the retail sector. She joined the board of housebuilder Barratt Developments as a non-executive director in January 2018.

Still shell be able to work on JL's BAME wimmin polices.

 

JOhn Lewis need to shrink their retail space by at least 30%, starting yesterday.

With the death of the finsec, they cannot rely on good numbers from London/SE. The money is just not in the traditional JL towns any more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharon White’s immediate challenges as John Lewis chairman

Key calls on management structure and policy await ex-Ofcom chief as she seeks to turn retailer round

https://www.ft.com/content/33adc46a-4361-11ea-a43a-c4b328d9061c

Corporate leaders from Tesco chairman John Allan to former Kingfisher chief executive Ian Cheshire stressed the former Ofcom chief’s strong interpersonal skills, firm grasp of strategy and ability to learn quickly. 

The last attribute is likely to be the most important as the partnership faces one of the most challenging periods in its 90-year history. Profits at the eponymous department stores are under pressure because of weak consumer confidence and widespread discounting by distressed peers. 

Ohhh. Ethnic basket weaving in yurts!

Top rated Comments

I can think of few markets scarier right now than British retail.. competition is immense. Hiring a career civil servant feels like bringing a toy phone to a knife fight.. 

This is madness, the ship is sinking and you bring in someone with ‘great interpersonal’ skill? Surely you need someone with actual seafaring experience. Merely delaying the inevitable , trim the fat, slim down. Too many complacent partners around. 

 

I write as someone who's spent much of the last 30 years working in retail /consumer.

The group restructuring is a nonsensical cost-wasting disaster, which will utterly distract management and will remove years of experience before being reversed in 3-5 years. Can someone explain to me how an ambient supply chain will be effectively merged with a mixed chilled/frozen/ambient one with completely different replenishment cycles? How are store ops going to be merged? Or the buying (of completely different products) departments?

Whilst I rarely shop in Waitrose, I used to be a regular at JL, but it has sadly lost its way over the last 5 years at least. Its "& Partners" rebranding was pointless, the virtual removal of staff uniforms stupid (it's really not obvious who the staff are now), its product ranging no longer matching its middle England customers (eg. far too many slim fit styles in menswear vs its regular-shaped middle-aged male customers), the recent Sale discounts uncompelling. Its website isn't as bad as many make out, but availability seems an issue.

Charlie Mayfield's stewardship has been a disaster and he has handed retail newbie Sharon White the ultimate poisoned chalice. It's a massive shame.

 

>> Its "& Partners" rebranding was pointless
completely agree - JL appears headed up by thicky twins.

 

>> Its "& Partners" rebranding was pointless
completely agree - JL appears headed up by thicky twins.

 

[TheCountOfNowhere]

I'm gonna throw one into the hat.... Man Utd. 

 

If there's a big down turn and people cut back on pay TV and football spending could they be in trouble? 

[Noallegiance]

27 minutes ago, TheCountOfNowhere said:

I'm gonna throw one into the hat.... Man Utd. 

 

If there's a big down turn and people cut back on pay TV and football spending could they be in trouble? 

I think sport in general is on shaky ground. They're as dependant on the debt bubble as houses are. It's not like sportspeople were paupers before the 1990s. But the money around all types of games has exploded with the debt and TV bubble. Just look at the previously unwatched niche sports that now command TV time.

It just means they need to adjust backwards which will, of course, be resisted for a while.

Football clubs might actually need their fans ticket money, for a change.