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Bossy Boots and Spoil Sports |
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Posted At: 07 May 2010 16:57 PM
Related Categories: Environmental, Retail Suppliers, Retailers, Social Commentary |
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So, Poundland and B&M have been selling Boots’ products on the sly then eh? Tut tut. Although, not really, because it was completely above board and everyone involved was aware…anyway…
Apparently a couple of students from Aberystwyth University uncovered the ‘labeling scam’ - as its being called - after buying a body sculpting cream from their nearby Poundland and discovering a rogue label underneath the existing (why would a ‘couple’ want body sculpting cream? Was the girl just too afraid to break the story alone or what?). For some as yet unknown reason, the label was removed and the Botanics branding was revealed, causing the nation to step back and take a collective gasp of horror! Or not, because no one cares – probably due to some small election thing that’s happening, or maybe just because it’s massively irrelevant to most people, who knows.
So, what most people would have done is keep it to themselves – they bagged a bargain right? At the most, they should have maybe told a few friends to get in on the action. It was clearly not in anyone’s interest for this story to be leaked, and I am dismayed at the fact that they decided bypass both of these options and go to the papers, probably motivated by the thought of some, ahem, monetary remuneration, for their story. Honestly, is everything for sale now? Why couldn’t they just be happy that they’d been lucky enough to discover this amazing cost saving tip?
Yes, I’m sure at least one of Boots’ many millions of customers will be outraged to hear that they’ve been ripped off, but that same customer is probably a) not even in Poundland's demographic and b) a bit naïve anyway, since I find it hard to believe that any creams cost anywhere near the £8 that Boots were charging for the product in question to make. (Said customer should’ve watched Gok Wans beauty tests – they’re all basically the same, no matter how much they cost).
The only people who have lost out here are the consumers, because I’m sure that this practice will now be stopped. Boots were right to sell off their excess produce rather than dumping it the oceans like many others would, and the company to whom they sold it would have clearly had to ask their permission to rebrand it. Poundland have confirmed that the supplier have an agreement with Boots, so they were obviously completely aware of where this ‘excess’ stock was going, and have used the ‘should be going abroad’ line to save face.
What I find more interesting than this silly labeling story is the ingenuity of the Poundland business model, and the way they have been able to offer many openly-branded products at such a low price, completely legally without compromising on quality.
Rather than being painted as ‘criminals’ maybe the two retailers involved should be commended on their ability to ‘think outside the box’ in an effort to recuperate some cost, provide the customer with a lower priced item and for attempting to save the environment! Honestly. Some people spoil it for everyone!
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Give Me Some Credit |
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Posted At: 28 May 2009 15:10 PM
Related Categories: Finance & Investment Management, Retail Suppliers, Retailers |
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Although several major retailers now have finance arms, more than you think are embroiled in the race to lend us their cash.
Can you name which retailers offer credit cards? That’s credit cards, not store cards…
Tesco? Yup. M&S? Certainly…struggling? You’ll be surprised who else offers them; HoF, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose, Homebase, Bhs, Argos, Post Office, Debenhams, Sky and most recently…play.com!
Last week, it was announced that Play.com had launched its own credit card through MBNA, with an APR of 15.9%. As well as being a bona fide credit card – as in, you can use it everywhere, unlike a store card, which limits you to a store – it also offers a points reward scheme for avid spenders. In fact, if you spend £150 within 90 days, you’ll get 1,500 ‘points’! A tempting offer in the first instance, but when you look a bit further, you realise that that’s just a £15 reward! And what’s more, its fifteen extra pounds you have to spend with them. Doesn’t sound as rewarding as, say, Dorothy Perkins’ £5 voucher, 20% discount and free £7 top, now does it?!
Play.com chief operating officer Stuart Rowe said: "We are very excited about the launch of our Play.com Credit Card this year. The Play.com card will be another way of rewarding our customers for their ongoing loyalty."
What he really meant to say was "We are very excited about being able to legally trick people into spending a load of money with us for very little benefit to themselves but a whole load of massive money dollars for us! Har har, SUCKERS!”
Although, disclaimer time, 15.9% APR is quite good and I’m sure people who go for a play.com card will already be patrons of play.com anyway. Phew.
Anyway, fact is, I don’t understand why so many retailers are queuing up to give us money (if you pass the stringent credit checks – i.e don’t need it). I mean of course I understand, but I just think it’s a little irresponsible, and not what a retailer should be concentrating on at all. Sell me stuff, don’t be my bank manager…my finances are for me and him to worry about, thank you very much amen.
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Fishy Business |
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Posted At: 22 April 2009 13:15 PM
Related Categories: General, Retail Suppliers |
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We have busy lives. Lives that are made easier by gadgets and solutions and a whole range of things that we didn’t even know we couldn’t live without before their invention.
It’s a multimillion pound industry, and there are countless mail order companies (Kleeneze, Betterware) dedicated to selling this tosh. Need a cream cracker box? Not until you mentioned it! Tired of using your hand to sweep pesky crumbs from your desk or table? Never fear, get a table sweeper! These are actually real products that you could spend your hard earned cash on. That is, of course, assuming you have some left after you’ve stocked up on your NO DRAIN TUNA.
No Drain Tuna. Seriously. What’s that all about? If there was ever a problem that just didn’t need a solution, draining the brine from the tuna can is one it. I’m surprised there’s not a tool to do it for you already, quite frankly, but that’s by the by...
Apparently a lot of research was carried out, and this is what the people wanted.
So it goes that we said “jump!” John West asked “how high?!” and the item created turned out to be the laziest food product since the of the Pot Noodle.
But what do I know? Industry experts say that John West will ‘revolutionise’ the canned fish industry with the introduction of its new ‘No Drain, Less Mess’ tuna…mkay.
My opinion is that if an industry - which, by the way, is worth £442m - can experience a revolution just because someone realises that putting less brine in a can will eliminate the need to drain the excess, then the country is in dire straits indeed!
And on a financial note, some food for thought - how can ‘no drain’ tuna cost 10p more than conventional cans when it contains fewer ingredients and requires a whole lot less effort to manufacture…!
In conclusion; stupid.
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Biggest stories of 2008 |
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Posted At: 06 January 2009 16:52 PM
Related Categories: General, Retail, Retail Statistics, Retail Suppliers, Retailers |
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Happy New Year to all our readers, and welcome to the first SnapShop Blog post of 2009! As is [to become a] tradition with these things, we’re going down the ‘a year, in retrospective’ route. So without further adieu, here’s a not-so-quick review of the hottest stories of 2008 (from a retail industry perspective, anyway).
1. Freshest in our head is the demise of the largest pick n mix chain in the world, Woolworths. I can’t remember which witty journalist coined the aforementioned pick n mix phrase, but it does sum up, in essence, what poor old Woolies became. With today marking the closure of the last few stores, it’s with a furrowed brow that we bid goodbye to the golden child of the 1990s. At least you won’t be alone…
2. From perfume to media, to childrenswear to savil row tailors, the sheer numbers of retailers being affected by administrations and closures in 2008 was immense.
Our Managing Director, Geoff Nicholson, comments as follows:
“I think we will have to deal with the factor that has hit all business – the move from it being not only smart, but de rigeur, for high performing businesses to have as much debt as possible. As long as debt was freely available, at reasonable rates of interest, it seemed a no-brainer. However, when the availability of credit dried up, as it did throughout 2008, the rules of the game suddenly changed. Now, trying to service debt, if you’ve still got the loan, or to renew it if the term has come to an end, is somewhere between impossible and very expensive.
Thus, when we look at retail failures, there are two basic causes:
-Retailers, such as Woolworths, whose retail proposition was un-compelling. Loads of the fashion retailers are likely to fall into this category but also some of the household goods retailers.
-Retailers with financial problems – retailers backed by Icelandic money are a particular case of a general problem – who can’t renew their debt funding. Not all of them are poor retailers; the problem is with the lack of credit.”
If you say so, Geoff! Moving onto something less depressing!
3. 2008 saw fuel prices rise to record levels, peaking at a UK average of 119.5 pence per litre in July. The knock on affect of the rise was felt across the retail industry, with transportation costs pushing up the cost of food, in particular.
One savvy PR department did see the silver lining, however, by giving away £20k worth of petrol at a London station to promote its new computer game… much to the chagrin of local moaners!
Thankfully, though still high, prices have returned to a much more reasonable 83.9ish ppl.
4. Next to grab our attention was the opening of 4 major regional shopping centres in 2008, namely; Highcross Leicester, Cabot Circus Bristol, Liverpool One and White City, London.
Liverpool One and Highcross hit the 1m visitor mark in 2 weeks, White City notched up 2m in 3 weeks and Cabot Circus clocked 2 million visitors in its first month of trading.
5. Though Christmas may be over for most of us, the retail world will likely remember Christmas 2008 for a long time still to come! Spurred on by plummeting consumer confidence and desperation to get us handing over the green, a raft of top name retailers slashed their prices in half in the most vicious pre-Christmas discounting seen in recent memory! Great news for us, not so great for the profit margins.
6. Not strictly retail, but still important, 2008 and its inherent gloom brought the car industry across the world to its knees. By November, production in the UK was down by a third, Honda pulled out of F1, and Nissan, Vauxhall and Ford announced short-time hours for its remaining workers. Luxury brands are expected to suffer next, as demand for extravagant cars such as Jaguars and off-roaders subsides.
7. Where to start with the economic news of 08! VAT cuts, inflation rates, income tax rebates…its all, quite frankly, beyond me, but obviously worth a mention.
8. And last but by no means least, Sir Phillip Green/Iceland/Baugur. This is what I understand;
September 08
The Icelandic economy starts to collapse. Glitnir bank is handed over to receivers along with Landsbanki and Kaupthing. All 3 are nationalised.
October 08
Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde says that Iceland's banks might have to sell stakes that they hold in foreign companies…Icelandic banks hold significant stakes in a number of Baugur's retail chains, including House of Fraser, frozen food supermarket Iceland, Oasis, Principles, Mosaic and Jane Norman.
Coface pulls credit insurance for Baugur suppliers.
Baugur quashes speculation that it will suffer as result of the nationalisation of Icelandic bank Glitnir and the administration of Stodir. Chief Executive Gunnar Sigurdsson say that Baugur's facilities with its banks are solid.
It’s rumoured that the management teams of several Baugur-backed businesses are looking at buying back their chains.
Rumours that Sir Philip Green would buy Baugur’s debt from the Icelandic banks and the Icelandic government under the deal start. Alchemy Partners are also rumoured to be interested.
Baugur do not deny that the assets owned by the banks are up for sale, but do deny that an administration is on the cards.
November 08
Jon Asgeir Johannesson says that a quick fire sale of assets controlled by the Icelandic government would be impossible before Christmas.
Baugur chief executive Gunnar Sigurdsson has said the Icelandic investor has no intention of altering its portfolio of brands and that it is 'business as usual'.
Sir Philip Green buys Baugur's 28% stake in Moss Bros, which is later sold to Simon Berwin.
January 09
Rumours for the New Year is that Baugur are on the brink of receivership, despite claims that the Icelandic government would not allow such a travesty! (Really, how much does Geir Haarde care about retail...)
So, it’s been a rocky year, and although I’m sure there must have been some good news out there, it certainly wasn’t hot and I was unable to recall it! 2009 will continue on a similar trend, so I’m sure next years review will be just as, erm, exciting!
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Share & Share Alike. |
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Posted At: 19 December 2008 16:00 PM
Related Categories: E-tailing, Future of Retailing, Retail, Retail Suppliers |
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This year, why not give the gift of shares. Seriously. Stick with me here. It’s a hot tip and not at all boring.
Founded by former banker Helen Brown, Catwalk Genius is an e-tailer and crowd-funding site that enables commoners like you or I to purchase shares in designers for just a tenner. Each designer has 5,000 shares available, and you can buy as many as you like in exchange for discounts and dividends. There are currently just under 30 designers listed in the ‘Back a Designer’ section, 11 of which are available to fund, and most items in the collections are also available just to buy, should you so wish.
My favourites designers to date are Black Heart Bunny, DAD and Ostwald Helgason, because I consider the products attractive in that a) I would wear them, and b) I can see them selling…therefore giving me, as an investor, a return. Or, it would, if those particular designers were available to back…which brings me to some issues I have with the site:
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It’s not overly obvious how you buy the shares. (You find a designer, check for the little pink love heart symbol which denotes that shares are available, click on the name and then click on their names again to go to their profile page where shares can be bought – took me a few attempts to discover this)
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You can hardly call some of the collections ‘collections’. Tom Florian Atelier lists 1 bag on his product page, while Tatty Divine looks more like the former than the latter, listing plastic keychains and dress-up shades with exorbitant price tags. But hey, what do I know about fashion? Apparently “the work for sale on the site is edited and directed by [a] virtual panel of fashion industry experts”…so I guess these things are ‘cutting edge’, not ‘over priced’…
But, it is a fledgling site, so there are bound to be gremlins, and I hope that it does take off once all the kinks are ironed out. I love the idea of Catwalk Genius and genuinely think that it’s important for us to back home-grown talent, so well done to the people sticking their neck out there are creating new concepts like this one.
Some other examples of crowd-funding schemes that I liked include;
- ArtistShare - a service for musicians to fund their projects outside the normal recording industry
- BeerBankroll - a community managed brewing company
- greedyorneedy.com – focuses on fulfilling as many everyday wishes for as many everyday people as possible
- laraghfinance.com - raises funding for businesses so they can execute their business plans.
- nvohk - an eco-friendly clothing company
Maybe something like this would make a great Christmas gift for a friend or relative who you’ve ran out of ideas for; there are lots of these things to choose from and some ultimately very worthy causes out there to support.
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Santa Clause Is Coming To Town |
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Posted At: 15 December 2008 16:11 PM
Related Categories: General, Retail Suppliers, Town & Shopping Centre Management |
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I for one remember my favourite shop Santa….he (and I do understand that it probably was not the same ‘he’ every year) was based at a local garden centre in Oxfordshire where I grew up. We would visit every December and inevitably encouraged my parents to buy more decorations and other Christmas related paraphernalia; presumable exactly what the garden centre wanted to happen. But does the jolly fellow boost sales? And are kids even still interested? If they’re not, they soon will be…
As we walk ever on into the future so does Santa. New concepts such as the Big Daddy ‘fly on the wall’ expose from Propinvest (Father Christmas and his gang will be broadcasting real-time to 6 of their Shopping Centres) and Santa’s Showtime (a 15 minute show put on by Meadowhall shopping Centre in Sheffield designed to expel ‘the long queues and disgruntled customer’) are dragging St Nic into the future, and you can also fit him into your increasingly busy lives (savvy teched-up parents can create their own personalised video message from Santa! I know one 4 year old who insisted her message was played back to her over and over again, now that is value for money as it is a completely free service.)
Good ideas, and theres nothing wrong with Santa going 21st C. PC, however, Santa is not! One shopping centre in Birmingham is outright refusing to have a Santa’s grotto for fear of offending Non Christians (a spokeswoman said: "We wish to be sensitive to people of other religions over the festive period. There are a lot of people in the region who are not Christians and do not celebrate Christmas") and in another centre, a skinny St Nick is refusing to stuff his suit with a cushion as he believes this encourages child obesity. He claims tubby children make his knees hurt! Maybe he needs some more meat on those knobbly sparrows knees?!
All of this is very interesting but does having him in your centre really boost sales?
There is the argument that actually no, he doesn’t, as no one in their right mind would take their children shopping in December! If parents take the kids to see the big FC, then perhaps they don’t intend to shop at the same time, but surely most people would not walk away from the shops empty handed during the festive period???
Shopper numbers are continuing to rise in the week before the penultimate last minute rush, and latest figures from retail analysts SPSL show that for week 10-16 December, shopper numbers increased 6.4 per cent on the week prior. We should also consider that on-line purchasing is on the increase; online year-on-year sales jumped 14% to £320m on Monday December 8 - traditionally the busiest day of the year online.
So although we might not be stepping out to shop as much as we did last year, there is definitely some attraction to the shops, and the SnapShop team like to think that good old Father Christmas has done his bit to get the shoppers flocking!
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The Economics of Christmas |
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Posted At: 12 December 2008 17:17 PM
Related Categories: Retail Suppliers |
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I was going to a blog about the average cost of Christmas, but have since realised I’ve banged on about very similar topics in other posts. Therefore, we turn to economics. Similar topic, but more depressing.
The Christmas Price Index is an American economic indicator run by The PNC Financial Services Group, which calculates the price of the goods as reported in the carol ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’.
That’s right. The Twelve Days of Christmas.
There are two calculators on the site, both great. The Christmas Price Index adds together the cost of the items in the carol each year, while the True Cost of Christmas in Song follows the rules (i.e. buying a partridge in a pear tree every day, 2 turtle doves every day from the second day and so on and so fourth).
Its interesting stuff, when you consider that, although light-hearted fun, the indexes do actually reflect the changes in the American economy year on year! Prices of labour have risen (the lords and ladies), the swans are quite a high cost (due to uncertain breeding cycles), partridges are really cheap and the price of everyday goods has fallen! Amazing.
Anyway, to the facts…
- In 1984, it would have cost you $12,623.10 to buy all the items mentioned in the song. To buy them true to rule, it would have cost you $61,318.94.
- The most expensive item would have been seven swans a swimming, at $1000 each. Swans are still the most expensive item 24 years on, though the price has now dropped to $800 each (a 33% increase on 2007 prices)
- In 1986, the price of pear trees rose over 50%
- And in 1987, the value of gold shot up 172.73%, sending the price of 5 gold rings soaring from $275 to $750
- The price of the list (not true) experienced the biggest fluctuation in 1995, where it fell 21% YoY
- The true cost of the items in the song was highest to date in 2008, where they would have set a hopeless romantic back a shocking $86,608.51!
- Being a milk maid is clearly not the job to be in; it would cost you just $52.40 to hire 8 maids a milking in 2008; $6.55 each!
- Pipers, however – presumably due to a distinct lack of them now – have gone up to $2284 for 11 in 2008, from $770 in 1984.
And a breakdown of the items, mostly written by PCN…
- Partridge/pear tree – Topped $140 in 2001 when good weather made the trees taller and more costly
- Turtle Doves – All time low in 2004 due to successful breeding cycles producing more birds
- French hens – French hens were most expensive in 2004. There was a low hatchling rate and fears of the avian flu virus caused breeders to move away from decorative breeds
- Calling Birds – 2003/4 was an unstable year for birds across the board, it seems, as low hatchling rates caused the prices of normal birds to rise significantly
- Gold Rings – Black Monday effected the prices of gold in ’87, when prices went through the roof
- Geese – again, low hatchling rates and flu fears meant birds prices were high, comprising 25% of the total cost of Christmas in 2004
- Swans – in 1995, dedicated breeders increased the population so significantly that prices of swans halved
- Milk maids – following the minimum wage increases, milk maids re now slightly better off than they had been in previous years
- Dancing ladies – in 2006, rising labour costs exceeded inflation for the first time since the beginning of the index, and performance artist have seen their wages increase steadily over the years
- Lords – As with the dancing ladies, lords a leaping have experienced gradual wage increases since the beginning of the index
- Pipers – Pipers are also benefiting from increased wages
- Drummers – and drummers are no different
Not being a big fan of economics – or numbers in general, really – I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this site and would suggest it to anyone currently introducing their children to the concept of supply and demand. Adults, however, can head on over to our Retail and Economic Statistics page, where an all together more serious picture can be reviewed at your pleasure.
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Pedestrian path measurement technology |
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Posted At: 26 June 2008 09:57 AM
Related Categories: Retail Suppliers |
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A noted Liberal Democrat MP has been jumping on the bandwagon voicing his concerns over the tracking of customers via their mobile phones in a popular UK shopping centre this week. Everyone is entitled to air their views but it always helps if they do a bit of homework first to ensure what they do or say adds value and is factually correct!
The technology in question has been implemented by Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth and is the brainchild of Path Intellegence, also based in Portsmouth.
The ‘pedestrian path measurement’ system, FootPath™, consists of a small number of discreet monitoring units which calculate the movement of customers by detecting signals from their mobile phones. Even though it doesn’t capture any personal information (and therefore has no idea who you actually are) the words ‘Big Brother’ (not the Channel 4 reality TV show) and ‘Orwellian’ have been banded around by privacy campaigners yet again, so we here at SnapShop decided it was time to let the technology developers and owners, Path Intellegence, have their say.
Sharon Biggar a co-founder of the company says “Our system is basically the modern day version of having a market researcher installed within a shopping centre asking shoppers if they had a satisfactory visit. But the system takes the tedium of surveying away and gathers the statistics anonymously and automatically. It’s much better for consumers than being bothered when shopping.”
And I [the author] personally don’t see it as an invasion of any of my privacy rights; as long as no one has my telephone number (and as such I don’t get any pesky marketing texts or calls) then I’m quite happy for my whereabouts to be tracked. In the end, it will make all our shopping experiences much more timesaving and, consequently, more enjoyable.
Footpath is useful for Shopping Centre managers, property owners, asset managers and managing agents. Path Intellegence can be contacted at Unit 27 The Slipway, Marina Keep, Port Solent, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO6 4TR or visit their website
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