Lingfield College Business

Cuts across different topics, but which do you think is the main driver? Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot in $50bn merger talks A merged company would be worth about $50bn (£39bn)     Michael O'Dwyer     Alan Tovey ,  industry editor 30 OCTOBER 2019 • 7:39AM Fiat Chrysler has confirmed talks with Vauxhall owner PSA Group over a   tie-up   that would create one of the world’s biggest carmakers.  The Italian-American company said on Wednesday that "ongoing discussions" were underway with PSA, the Peugeot owner, but did not give further details. The French company made a similar statement.  A merger would create Europe’s second-biggest car company after VW Group worth about $50bn (£39bn). The talks come just months after Fiat’s efforts to merge with PSA’s French rival Renault   fell apart   following resistance from the French government, which owns a stake in Renault. The t...

Next signs deal to host O2 outlets in its shops Save Next has defied tough conditions on the UK high street   CREDIT:  SIMON DAWSON/REUTERS   Laura Onita 25 OCTOBER 2019 • 6:00AM Follow   N ext shoppers will be able to buy a mobile phone or renew their O2 contracts while shopping for clothes and homeware.  The high street bellwether, which has around 500 stores, has opened two O2 stores on Friday in Next shops in Warrington and Southampton, with two more to follow next month in Swindon and Nottingham. The tie-up with the network provider comes as a string of retailers strive to find the best use for their space and attract more shoppers to their sites.  Next   already has similar tie-ups with coffee chains Costa and Cafe Nero, stationery firm Paperchase, travel agents Virgin Holidays and Tui, furniture maker Hammonds, make up seller Inglot and pasta bar Gino D'Acampo. In Manchester...

JUST EAT The Tencent bet that turned into billions A big gamble on China changed the game for company behind hostile takeover Ben Martin,  Dominic Walsh October 23 2019, 12:01am,  The Times Food and drink Asia China Energy Naspers invested $34 million in the Chinese internet messaging company Tencent 18 years ago. Its market value has swelled to about $400 billion and Naspers, still owns 31 per cent INTERNET Tencent was an obscure Chinese internet messaging company when Koos Bekker took a $34 million punt on the business 18 years ago. At the time Mr Bekker was chief executive of Naspers, a South African media business and newspaper publisher known for its nationalist stance in the apartheid era. But that bet, which handed Naspers a 46.5 per cent stake in Tencent, would change everything.  It made a billionaire of Mr Bekker, 66, who remains Naspers’ chairman, and helped to transform the Cape Town-based company into the sprawling, intern...

American rivals take bite out of McDonald’s meaty menu James Dean , US Business Editor October 23 2019, 12:01am,  The Times United States Economics Food and drink The chain faces increasing competition from its US rivals, which have introduced vegan options and value menus GENE J PUSKAR/AP Competition from rivals in the United States and the absence of a meat-free burger on its menu have given McDonald’s and its investors an unexpected bout of indigestion.  The world’s biggest fast-food restaurant chain missed profit forecasts for the first time in two years yesterday, with third-quarter, like-for-like sales also falling short of Wall Street’s predictions. That, in turn, sent its shares down 5.1 per cent, or $10.62, to close at $199.23 in New York last night.  McDonald’s was founded in California in 1940 and opened its first site in the UK in 1974. Run by Steve Easterbrook, 52, a Briton who formerly was in charge of the group’s U...

For those of you really wanting a high grade, here is a new instalment on the move by Nike we discussed in class. It does not stop here... From a shop in Kentish Town, Nick Mavrides has been kitting out north London’s amateur footballers for 30 years. But now a letter from Nike has left him wondering how long he will be able to continue. In July last year, Nike closed his account because his business, Ace Sports, had fallen €1,550 short of meeting its €10,000 (£8,600) minimum annual-purchase obligation. After three decades, Nike gave Mavrides just two days’ notice. For years, the behemoth of the sporting goods industry had steadily restricted Mavrides’s access to its more desirable products, making sales harder to achieve. By the end, he couldn’t even get his hands on shin pads or goalies’ gloves. “They’re behaving like big bully boys,” the 68-year-old said. “The majority of teams who   visit my store insist on having the Nike brand. If I show them an alternative from anoth...

Think about competition, new markets, organic & inorganic growth, plus innovation and efficiency: Wm Morrison has accelerated its push into online by deepening its ties with Amazon and sealing a tie-up with Deliveroo to launch a hot-food delivery service this month. David Potts, chief executive of Morrisons, told   The Times  in his first interview since he took the job, that its “Morrisons at Amazon” service, which offers one-hour deliveries, was in eight cities and would be in twenty by the end of the year. The Morrisons boss also revealed that the supermarkets group would open a store in Canning Town in east London at the end of the month with a new Market Kitchen service, so that hot food could be delivered to local customers through Deliveroo. He said that the ultra-fast service had proved popular with customers. The arrangement was possible after Morrisons renegotiated its contract with Ocado, in the wake of a fire at its warehouse in Andover, Hampshire, in F...

Despite the challenges and risks associated with exporting, there are numerous benefits not likely to be achieved by remaining solely in the domestic market Ian Tandy Managing Director of Global Trade and Receivables Finance of HSBC UK Exporting is big business for the UK. Total exports reached £637bn at the end of last year, with the number of SMEs trading overseas increasing by 6.6pc and the number of large companies increasing by 6.1pc. But how can you take your business global? Research, for example, is crucial – into suppliers, your target market, local tax and duties, and practical considerations such as local infrastructure. Here are seven of the most common questions UK businesses have about getting started in exporting. What types of business could consider exporting? Any size or type of business has the potential to export. With the growth of e-commerce, the youngest business can start trading with the world almost immediately. International expansio...