Erm…. the cheque “is in the post”
Working with suppliers - Matalan applies the squeeze
A good example to use in AQA AS Unit 2 (working with suppliers). Discount retailer Matalan has made itself unpopular with a group of small business suppliers by imposing another price cut…
read more...»A return to Zoom and Bust
Major creditors owed money by airlines have a particularly powerful option that isn’t available to other businesses - they can simply stop a plane from taking off…
read more...»Cutting capacity to weather the housing slump
There was a great example last week of how to cut fixed costs and capacity to meet a sudden decrease in demand…
read more...»Apple overtakes Google as the new King of Silicon Valley
A sharp boost in its share price since the launch of the 3G iPhone has seen the market value of Apple overtake its near neighbour Google…
read more...»Can a company get the sack?
I bet senior executives at ETS Europe wish they’d never pitched to win the contract to mark KS2 & KS3 SATS. Now they have been removed as a supplier to the contract. The press love it, and claim the ETS have been “sacked”...
read more...»Not enough customers to break the daily grind at Beanscene
A couple of weeks ago Beanscene, one of Scotland’s leading chains of coffee shops, was put into administration. We should find out soon whether the business has been saved by a new buyer…
read more...»Investment appraisal looks unappetising for the cheesegrater
Here’s a great example to use if you want to explain how the credit crunch is affecting investment decisions by firms…
read more...»How much would you pay for a fish & chip shop?
If I offered you the chance to buy a profitable fish & chip shop, how much would you pay?
read more...»Business Planning - teaching resources
With the new emphasis in the AS Business specifications on business planning, here are a series of links to resources that should prove helpful to teachers and students…
read more...»Wrapit’s persistent losses seal the wedding service fate
We reported on the financial problems facing Wrapit in a recent blog article and, unfortunately, the business has now been closed and put in the hands of the receivers…
read more...»Did smoke signals lead to the wrong investment decision?
Here’s a great example of how an industry might take a too optimistic view of a change in legislation.
read more...»Cash is king for small businesses in the downturn
An interesting piece in The Telegraph suggests that small businesses are looking to maximise their cash balances as a key part of surviving the economic downturn…
read more...»The exciting topic of budgeting makes the front pages
Its not often that expenditure budgets make the front page of the newspapers, but the dispute over the payroll costs of the “Queen of Countdown” makes for an interesting case study in how to control costs…
read more...»SMEs should stand up to the large business bullies
Small businesses are being bullied by their much larger competitors when it comes to making late payments for amounts due…
read more...»Cash flow problems could mean its a wrap…
Are we about to see the return of the dot.com bust as online businesses also struggle to handle the consumer downturn?
read more...»A good example of a small business that just couldn’t break-even
A useful news piece buried deep in the Guardian today makes an excellent case study for the new AS Business specifications…
read more...»Small businesses shun business bank accounts
An interesting news piece for anyone teaching the sources of finance for start-ups and small businesses. It seems that the business accounts of the big high street banks just don’t compete with the retail (consumer) sector when it comes to savings rates and other services.
read more...»Travel companies face the perfect storm
A combination of a the credit crunch and a weak pound against the euro is leading many in the travel industry to predict a summer of business collapses amongst tour operators.
read more...»An accounting riddle – sales down, profits up…
WHSmith has reported a slightly better than expected 8% increased in first half pre-tax profit and said that despite a tough trading climate it is confident about its full year prospects. “The economic environment remains uncertain and, whilst we continue to be cautious, we are confident in the outcome for the full year,” said Chief Executive Kate Swann.
For the six months to 29 February 2008 the newspapers, books and stationery retailer made a pre-tax profit of £64m. However, “like-for-like” sales in the High Street operation continued to fall, down 3% over the period.
How can this be possible?
read more...»Is a Jaffa Cake food? What about a Marks and Spencer Teacake?
This is actually a question about tax. The introduction of value added tax (VAT) was complicated by the decision to ‘zero rate’ some products so that VAT wouldn’t be charged on them. The best examples are children’s clothes, books, newspapers and food.
So what is food? The definition matters. The UK Treasury is facing a £3.5m bill, because of VAT wrongly imposed on a Marks and Spencer teacake, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled.
Customers paid VAT for 20 years before the authorities accepted the product was a cake, which does not command VAT. UK tax officials acknowledged that chocolate teacakes had been wrongly classed as biscuits in 1994, prompting M&S to launch a legal battle to have the wrongly-paid VAT returned.
Thanks to a BBC article (some of which is outlined below) that’s helpful in answering this question for yourselves – and the truth about (utterly revolting) Jaffa Cakes is revealed…..
read more...»Credit crunch gets personal for small business owners
A common source of finance for small businesses is an unsecured bank loan taken out by the entrepreneur which gets invested in the fledgling business. Now the credit crunch threatens to make life very tough for this kind of finance.
read more...»Woolies slashes dividend to conserve cash
Another example of a quoted company deciding to cut its dividend in order to retain cash in the business. Except that this time, Woolworths plc has cut its final dividends by 90%
read more...»B&Q looks to conserve cash by cutting the shareholders’ dividend
What is a good way for quoted companies to save cash for a rainy day? Cut the annual dividends paid to shareholders. DIY retailer B&Q is the latest example of a company that has decided to take this action in the face of a downturn in consumer spending.
read more...»More evidence of rising raw materials costs affecting profit margins
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A recurring theme of business news stories from the UK and abroad is the impact of rising raw material costs on the profitability of manufacturers. There was another good example today when food supplier Uniq announced its latest results
read more...»A good example of price elasticity of demand
A great news article about the problems faced by Hovis bread would make a useful example of price elasticity of demand for business students.
read more...»Late payment is strangling the cash flow of small businesses
We had a good day for customer cheques and BACS payment today. However, a new report from Barclays suggests that we are lucky. Small businesses are being submerged under the increasing burden amounts owed by trade debtors.
read more...»Most small businesses would reject an offer from the Dragons
An interesting survey of small business owners suggests that investment offers on Dragon’s Den represent poor value for money.
read more...»Glenda hits the finance-raising trail
You may remember Glenn Hoddle as the sophisticated, non-tackling England midfielder who went on to manage the national team (with little success). Now Hoddle has turned into an entrepreneur, looking to raise share capital for his new football academy.
read more...»Question marks over the future of Digital Radio
Heavy losses and poor returns on investment are threatening the future of digital radio channels.
read more...»
