John Lewis - new boss needed.
Discussion
Well she is stepping down (at last).
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66981035
Personally I think she not been very good for them so hopefully things will improve, she basically ruined OFCOM/Radiocommunications Agency, the latter has been hollowed out so nothing is left.
Not exactly sure what OFCOM do now apart from take complaints about the BBC.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66981035
Personally I think she not been very good for them so hopefully things will improve, she basically ruined OFCOM/Radiocommunications Agency, the latter has been hollowed out so nothing is left.
Not exactly sure what OFCOM do now apart from take complaints about the BBC.
It shows the level of experience of the board that they selected her in the first place.
Of all the businesses out there, retail is something that requires experience.
She tried the textbook, cut cost, develop properly and then suggested asset stripping.
I fear that John Lewis is like the dodo and whilst Waitrose has improved, the overall structure including staff benefits probably make their survival over the longer term difficult.
Of all the businesses out there, retail is something that requires experience.
She tried the textbook, cut cost, develop properly and then suggested asset stripping.
I fear that John Lewis is like the dodo and whilst Waitrose has improved, the overall structure including staff benefits probably make their survival over the longer term difficult.
asfault said:
JL have a heck of a task ahead of them. They are defo swimming against the tide with the anti car pro public transport ethos of every local council and the higher end car user owner being their main customer who will not use public transport.
Every supermarket has a car park - if they didn't they've be dead very quickly, hence the rise of the out-of-town retail park. How are you supposed to carry home a week's groceries for a family of four on a bus? The same way you're supposed to cycle 20 miles to work in the rain I suppose...So I don't see it as a car thing, more of a 'differentiation from the crowd' issue.
It’s a bloody hard job.
As a perceived “national institution” every action will be subject to immense public debate and possible government comment. The competition (incl. Amazon and Mike Ashley to name a few) is ruthless and isn’t expected to hold itself to the same values.
And there is also a minor issue of pay. For the top job JL base pay of £1M is the same or a little higher than competitors, but the variable element is much lower. CEO of M&S has a base of £920k, but an on-target variable element of another £1.3M. It’s quite possible the top candidates may have a conversation along the lines of “it’d be an honour to have the job, but you’ll need to close the gap a little on the money”
As a perceived “national institution” every action will be subject to immense public debate and possible government comment. The competition (incl. Amazon and Mike Ashley to name a few) is ruthless and isn’t expected to hold itself to the same values.
And there is also a minor issue of pay. For the top job JL base pay of £1M is the same or a little higher than competitors, but the variable element is much lower. CEO of M&S has a base of £920k, but an on-target variable element of another £1.3M. It’s quite possible the top candidates may have a conversation along the lines of “it’d be an honour to have the job, but you’ll need to close the gap a little on the money”
It appears their retail stores have become another victim of the dot com offering.
The issue is their staff - knowledge & customer service seem non-existent these days. Visited a store recently and got quite a pushy sales pitch from their TV salesman. Got chatting to the member of staff a bit more, turned out he was agency staff on commission. Suddenly made sense.
The issue is their staff - knowledge & customer service seem non-existent these days. Visited a store recently and got quite a pushy sales pitch from their TV salesman. Got chatting to the member of staff a bit more, turned out he was agency staff on commission. Suddenly made sense.
Retail is a tough place to be right now for any business
- Online shopping is fundamentally more cost efficient than a high street operation, and very few customers are willing to pay the premium for the high street experience. Some might even browse on the high street then order cheaper from the online supplier.
- There’s never been more price transparency, with endless apps and websites allowing almost instant price comparison. Expect this to only get worse as AI assists in this quest (think an app where you point your phone camera at a product, and it tells you the cheapest place to buy it)
- High street footfall keeps declining, and there’s limited appetite from central or local government to do any reform or investment that might rejuvenate those places and bring customers back
- Suppliers are pushing big increases on wholesale costs, and that’s before the effect of a weakened £.
- Staff availability is limited, and wage costs are rising fast
- Online shopping is fundamentally more cost efficient than a high street operation, and very few customers are willing to pay the premium for the high street experience. Some might even browse on the high street then order cheaper from the online supplier.
- There’s never been more price transparency, with endless apps and websites allowing almost instant price comparison. Expect this to only get worse as AI assists in this quest (think an app where you point your phone camera at a product, and it tells you the cheapest place to buy it)
- High street footfall keeps declining, and there’s limited appetite from central or local government to do any reform or investment that might rejuvenate those places and bring customers back
- Suppliers are pushing big increases on wholesale costs, and that’s before the effect of a weakened £.
- Staff availability is limited, and wage costs are rising fast
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