Lingfield College Business

The Guardian explains...

Great video on what "leadership" really is:

E-Commerce Sheds Generating High Returns on Investment Jim Riley     23 rd November 2015 Take a look around during any journey up and down the M1 or across the M62 and you'll see them. Sheds. Big sheds. Unglamorous and perhaps even ugly. But, they provide an essential part of e-commerce in the UK and their value is rising! I was drawn to the headline above in the FT which reported on a significant increase in the price of space at warehouses ("sheds") across Europe. The article explains that investors in sheds (e.g. property developers) are earning returns on investment over 20% as the relentless growth and spread of e-commerce drives up values for the facilities needed to distribute goods ordered online. Many of the UK's leading e-commerce businesses have already moved quickly to secure shed space and facilities when there was more widely available supply. You may have noticed the impressive John Lewis shed complex at Magna Park (junctio...

Solid Growth Continues for UK E-Commerce Sales Jim Riley 20 th November 2015 The ONS has just released its latest statistical bulletin on retail sales and reported continued growth in online sales. The headline changes from the ONS are: Average weekly spending online in October 2015 was £839.1 million; this was an increase of 11.2% compared with October 2014 The amount spent online accounted for 12.8% of all retail spending, excluding automotive fuel, compared with 11.6% in October 2014 The summary table for the October 2015 data is shown below: Taking all retail activities as a whole, e-commerce now accounts for 12.8% of sales. However, that percentage varies somewhat when you look at particular retail segments. For example, online sales in the UK food sector (including groceries) are still relatively low at 4.3%. That might start to increase more significantly following the entrance of Amazon into UK food sales and Aldi's decision to start an...

Case study StepJockey: health app developer wins £600,000 private investment From:Innovate UKHistory:Published 21 September 2015 Part of:Research and development and UK economic growth A business that developed its health app with an SBRI contract has secured new investment and is working with blue chip companies worldwide StepJockey sign Smart signs at the foot of stairs can be read by the StepJockey app Health app developer StepJockey Ltd is set to grow its business after securing £600,000 in private investment. The StepJockey app was developed with a £200,000 SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative) contract from the Department of Health. The company promotes health and fights sedentary behaviour in multi-storey office buildings by placing smart signs on the stairs and offering a corresponding app with a gaming platform. The signs use near field technology and display calorie burn data for the stairs, increasing stair use in buildings by 20%-40%. Th...

15 OCTOBER 2015 - 6:00PM   UPDATED  |  POSTED BY   SEB JOSEPH Unilever’s online sales are growing at twice the rate of the global ecommerce market 651 Shares Unilever’s online sales are outpacing the global ecommerce market, propelled by growth from the UK, Ireland and France. The world’s second biggest ad spender said ecommerce sales across its business were growing at 40 per cent compared to 20 per cent for the global market. While it’s still early days, early gambles have the company on track to see its volume ecommerce sales account for around 6 per cent of its retail sales this year. A large chunk of its ecommerce spurt is coming from the UK and Ireland, which are growing in the “mid-teens”, according to the company, with ecommerce now accounting for 7 per cent of the business in the former. Its third biggest market is France where the business is seeing gains from alternative and “highly pop-up” models.   The boost help...

The amount that customers demand is affected by price (PED). However, it is also affect by the incomes of consumers. This leads onto another important elasticity – the income elasticity of demand (often shortened to YED). Income elasticity of demand measures the relationship between a change in quantity demanded for good X and a change in real income. The formula for calculating income elasticity is: % change in demand divided by the % change in income Most products have a positive income elasticity of demand . So as consumers' income rises more is demanded at each price. 1. Normal necessities have an income elasticity of demand of between 0 and +1 for example, if income increases by 10% and the demand for fresh fruit increases by 4% then the income elasticity is +0.4. Demand is rising less than proportionately to income. 2. Luxury goods and services have an income elasticity of demand > +1 i.e. demand rises more than proportionate to a change in income – for ex...

Understanding how demand for a product might change as price changes is essential to an effective marketing strategy.   First, a quick acronym - price elasticity of demand is often to just "PED": much quicker to write, particularly in an exam, so we'll use it here.   PED measures the responsiveness of demand for a product following a change in its own price .   The formula for calculating the co-efficient of elasticity of demand is: Percentage change in quantity demanded   divided by the percentage change in price   Since changes in price and quantity usually move in opposite directions, we usually do not bother to put in the minus sign. We are more concerned with the co-efficient of elasticity of demand [however, in the exam be precise and use the minus sign].   By calculating Ped, a business can assess how a change in price will affect the demand for its products. This is really useful information for any marketing plan, but also h...

Omnichannel Success - E-Commerce Helps Drive Growth at Ted Baker Jim Riley 8th October 2015   In our BUSS4 Section A briefings this week we've been exploring the competitive advantages enjoyed by "omnichannel retailers" who get the mix right between e-commerce, physical retail and other distribution channels. A great example hits the new this week, as lifestyle brand Ted Baker report significant growth from e-commerce sales. Ted Baker sells online, through 416 stores, outlets and concessions, including 184 in the UK. As always, the important point for students to consider is not the "what" (that e-commerce sales have risen), but the "why"? On their investor relations section, the Board at Ted Baker set out their corporate strategy: Our strategy is to develop as a leading global lifestyle brand, based on three main elements:  consid...

value of Interbrand's annual list of the 100 most valuable brands increased by 7pc compared to last year Email Lego has a brand value of $5.36bn   Photo: Warner Brothers By  Lauren Davidson 6:00AM BST 05 Oct 2015 Comment Lego was the highest new entrant on  this year’s Best Global Brands report , the annual index from the Omnicom-owned agency Interbrand of the world’s most valuable brands.  The  Danish toymaker’s brand was valued at $5.36bn , placing its 82nd on the list, ahead of Chevrolet, FedEx, Heineken, Ralph Lauren and Kleenex, following  the runaway success of The Lego Movie  and strong licensing deals with Jurassic World, Star Wars and Frozen.  The new entrants, which included Paypal, Mini, Moët & Chandon and Lenovo, knocked Pizza Hut, Nokia, Gap, Nintendo and Duracell off the list.  Pizza Hut fell out of the 10...

We have looked at the issue of competition within markets; however, firms have to be aware of many other changes and developments in the markets within which they operate, or want to operate. The term for assessing these issues id "SLEPT" analysis - and below is a good explanation of it in a current environment:                                 External environment theory SLEPT analysis (sometimes also called PEST analysis) Before creating business plans or when evaluating existing ones it is important to 'scan' the external environment. This takes the form of a SLEPT analysis, i.e. an investigation of the Social, Legal, Economic, Political, and Technological influences on a business. In addition it is also important to be aware of the actions of your competitors. These forces are continually in a state of change. ...