Identifying competitive advantage in international markets December 21, 2020 Today’s Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) operate in difficult circumstances. Economic globalisation, empowered consumers and constantly evolving technology makes competing with rivals even more challenging. Overseas expansion is one way SMEs are looking to increase market share. However, selling products and services in new markets brings a host of challenges to be overcome. One [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group withdraws income guidance on Tier 4 news December 21, 2020 Frasers Group has withdrawn its published guidance of a 20 per cent to 30 per cent underling improvement in EBITDA in the wake of the latest coronavirus restrictions. Due to the closure of almost all stores in London and the southeast during the year’s peak retail trading period, Frasers Group said it was withdrawing the [...]
Boohoo appoints new auditor following factory working conditions scandal December 21, 2020 Boohoo has appointed PKF Littlejohn as its auditor, after PwC quit earlier this year in the wake of allegations of poor factory conditions in the fashion group’s supply chain in Leicester. Deloitte, KPMG, BDO and Grant Thornton each ruled themselves out of the race to replace PwC, with PKF ultimately winning the bid. PKF will [...]
Arcadia empire begins to splinter as Aussies pick off Evans December 21, 2020 City Chic Collective, an Australian retail company, has picked up the Evans brand from stricken high street giant Arcadia. The antipodean firm has brought Evans’ brand and wholesale business, though UK stores are not part of the deal. The deal is thought to be worth around £23m. Read more: Where did it all go wrong [...]
Breaking up Christmas dinner ‘will not be a priority’, says senior police officer December 21, 2020 Eight people having Christmas dinner together will not be a priority for the police on Christmas Day, according to a senior police officer, despite those in Tier 4 being told not to mix at Christmas. Police Federation chair John Apter told Sky News there would not be extra police on shift during Christmas, and that [...]
FCA fines fall by half in 2020 as Covid takes hit on enforcement December 21, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority handed out £183.6m worth of fines this year, more than half the total bill in 2019. The number of fines has fallen too, from 21 to just ten. Lawyers believe the slowdown is due to the pandemic disrupting enforcement activities, not least the FCA’s ability to conduct witness and suspect interviews. [...]
US agrees $900bn Covid stimulus package December 21, 2020 Congressional leaders in the US have agreed a $900bn coronavirus stimulus package to help individuals and the economy affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The package would be the second-largest economic stimulus in US history, following a $2.3tn aid bill passed in March. It comes as the pandemic accelerates, infecting more than 214,000 people in the [...]
Shapps claims ‘this is not unusual’ ahead of emergency Cobra meeting on Dover December 21, 2020 Boris Johson will hold a meeting with the government’s emergency committee this morning after France closed its border with the UK following a new, more infectious strain of coronavirus in the South East of England. Last night the French government banned all travel from the UK for 48 hours, including freight drivers. The move comes [...]
Brexit talks continue but miss European Parliament deadline December 21, 2020 Talks on the UK’s exit from the EU will continue today despite missing the European Parliament’s Sunday night deadline for an agreement. The Parliament, which will need to ratify any agreement, had said last week that it would only hold an emergency meeting if a deal had been struck by midnight Sunday. Read more: Sterling [...]
Businesses’ capacity for altruism came of age during 2020 — but it mustn’t stop now December 21, 2020 Cast your minds back to March, when the world watched as markets tumbled further each day. As the sheer magnitude of the global crisis gradually became apparent, charities were picking up the phone to corporate and private donors, asking them to give urgently. I remember the conversations vividly with our long-term supporters from the business [...]
