All articles by Simon Laffin – Page 2
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OpinionManaging in an inflationary world
“Inflation is like sin; every government denounces it and every government practices it.”
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OpinionHigh street crusade ignores the facts
“The high street should be at the very heart of every community, bringing people together, providing essential services and creating jobs and investment; so it is vital that we do all that we can to ensure they thrive.”
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OpinionPushing water uphill
Thank heavens for Marks & Spencer. No, I’m not referring to its ready meals saving my latest dinner party.
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OpinionQuotas are not the answer for diversity
Companies with more women on their boards outperform others with a 42% higher return in sales, 66% higher return on invested capital and 53% higher return on equity.
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OpinionDifferentiation will be key in 2011
It’s that time of year for peeping over the parapet to stare at the new year.The trouble with predictions is that so often the reality turns out to be much wilder than the forecasts.
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OpinionMorrisons: the balsamic vinegar test
The Bolland legacy isn’t dead. It just needs further tightening up. So far he has kept to the real retail basics; simplifying ranging, innovation in own brand, further work on IT and supply chain, and improving customer service.
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OpinionRetail’s modern-day Troubleshooter?
When the BBC showed Mary Queen of Shops as a modern-day Troubleshooter for retailing, this should at last have been a chance to show audiences what retailing is all about and how fascinating it is.
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OpinionWill Ocado’s IPO bubble burst?
The great dotcom bubble was based on ‘get large or get lost’, start-ups buying market share to get growth and then IPO-ing even if they had never made a profit. So is history repeating itself? Only time will tell.
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OpinionThe minefield of OFT investigations
With a heavy heart, I read last week that a company I know is getting caught up in an OFT inquiry.
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OpinionDreaded needs test rears its head again
Yes, it’s election season and the Tories are going for the populist planning vote with their new Open Source Planning green paper.
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OpinionMarc Bolland’s Marks & Spencer food conundrum
I’m an admirer of Marc Bolland. But then I am not unique in that respect because he has quite a supporters club, a club that the Marks & Spencer board has now joined.
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OpinionA VAT nightmare waiting to happen?
Retailers are probably losing sleep now thinking about next year. Will there be a recovery?
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OpinionLeading the pack by a good margin
The big three listed food retailers are increasing sales 12% despite this deep recession. How?
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OpinionThe politics of good leadership
Leadership has been much in the news recently. Poor Gordon Brown certainly lacks it, as apparently do all our political figures at the moment.
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Opinion
Resenting bankers won’t get us far
The media’s and politicians’ campaign of vilification against individual bankers makes good copy but is just a convenient diversion from the real economic problems.
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Opinion
History can't prepare us for this recession
Retailers are almost all suffering from low sales, tightening gross margins, pressure on costs and difficulty in simply retaining existing borrowing facilities.
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