Posted on May 18, 2009 by Nick
Mostly, this blog deals with my personal experiences of running a business. Today, though, instead of taking you to my office, I’d like to take you home. To sunny Sydenham in South London, for a quick look through my local lens at supermarket giant Tesco.
Tesco has an astonishing position at the top of the retail [...]
Filed under: business heroes, marketing, retail, sales, service | Tagged: business, business survival, CRM, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, innovation, retail, run a business, start a business, supermarket, Terry Leahy, tesco | 2 Comments »
Posted on May 6, 2009 by Nick
Like many hoity-toity Londoners, I don’t get out of London much.
It’s a bit like being a politician – I get the feeling that the fine upstanding folk of Westminster don’t much like getting their hands dirty by going out to their constituencies and seeing how the other half live!
But last week, I did leave the [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance, retail | Tagged: Birmingham, business, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Halfords, heavy industry, manufacturing, retail, run a business | Leave a Comment »
Posted on December 1, 2008 by Nick
I’ve held off ranting about the VAT cut until now, because I wanted to speak to a few other entrepreneurs, to see what they think. So: the results are in, and here is the news…
Firstly, I was on my way home at 11.45 last night, and couldn’t fill the car up with petrol because all [...]
Filed under: finance, retail, sales, technology | Tagged: 15%, business, finance, price policy, prices, retail, running a business, start a business, VAT, VAT change | 1 Comment »
Posted on November 27, 2008 by Nick
Do you run a shop? Read on, then…
As I write, it appears that Woolworth’s, staple of the high street for 99 years, is to be put into administration.
For fans of slightly soggy pick’n’mix- or sweets with a strange rubbery patina from the fingers of 50 other small children, this is bad news.
I genuinely sympathise with [...]
Filed under: current affairs, retail, sales, service | Tagged: bank, business, finance, Hilco, pick'n'mix, recession, retail, risk, running a business, sales, shopfitting, start a business, start your own business, store, Woolies, Woolworths | 1 Comment »
Posted on October 30, 2008 by Nick
I, dear reader, am male. That means that when I need a pair of shoes, this is what I do:
Decide what sort of shoe I require, functionally (e.g. shoe, trainer, boot, etc.)
Go to the nearest shoe shop
Find shoes that broadly meet the requirement above, at what looks like a halfway decent price.
Pay. Run away. Fast.
I [...]
Filed under: current affairs, marketing, people skills, retail, sales, service, tips | Tagged: Add new tag, business, competition, customer service, experience, management today, matt gwyther, public transport, retail, run a business, shopping, start a business, westfield | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 29, 2008 by Nick
The top story in the business press today is about Tesco’s latest assault on the high street: Britain’s No. 1 retailer wants to massively increase its financial services offering.
This is one of those announcements that makes so much sense, you wonder why we didn’t all expect it.
Firstly, Tesco is no newcomer to finance- it’s offered [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance, marketing, retail, sales, service, technology | Tagged: bank, banking, credit crunch, CRM, current account, customer relationship management, customer service, financial services, motor insurance, profiling, retail, running a business, segmentation, small business, tesco | 1 Comment »
Posted on July 23, 2008 by Nick
Today, a salutary lesson in business planning and customer service.
This is a story which my good friend Darren likes to tell; about his father-in-law, John.
I’ve met John several times. He’s now in his 70’s, still thoroughly full of life, and a ‘mad inventor’ type of chap. John has had more hare-brained schemes, inventions and business [...]
Filed under: people skills, retail, sales, service | Tagged: business, choice, customer service, retail, sales, service, start your own business | Leave a Comment »
Posted on July 8, 2008 by Nick
Soothsayers and sleight-of-hand merchants, magicians and Victorian side-show owners. They’re as good a bet in understanding the current economic climate as anyone in the press.
I mean, what sort of misguided fool would proffer their opinion on this recession? Who’d be daft enough to stick their head above the parapet?
Er… me. I can’t help it. So, [...]
Filed under: current affairs, finance, retail, sales | Tagged: advertising, banking, banks, business, construction, Currys, economics, employment, food prices, GDP, jobs, john lewis, M&S, mortgages, Persimmon, recession, retail, running a business, self-employed, small business, small companies, start a business, Trinity Mirror, unemployment | 2 Comments »
Posted on June 2, 2008 by Nick
In my last posting, I hinted at my fondness for long lunches.
No sooner had I made my gastronomic passion public (well, it’s pretty obvious to anyone who has met me, but I am trying to go running a few evenings a week, OK?) than this article appeared about one of my favourite restaurants, the Wolseley [...]
Filed under: marketing, retail, sales, service | Tagged: business, catering, food, marketing, restaurant, retail, sales | Leave a Comment »
Posted on February 15, 2008 by Nick
This year’s January sales began in, er… December. In fact several stores, whilst obviously closed on Christmas day, used their 24/7 web marketing capacity to launch online sales on Christmas Day. Why the manic push for retail sales? Well, what with the credit crunch and an obsession with shareholder value, big retailers spent the last [...]
Filed under: marketing, retail, sales, tips | Tagged: dsg, john lewis, marketing, paul dunn, retail, sales, service, seymour pierce, virgin | Leave a Comment »
