Faites attention, mes petits choux fleurs. It’s time for my signature tune, La Vie en Rose, a nostalgic and garlic-scented rendition of which I will sing in favour of continued unification with our many friends in the European Union.
I’ve always had an eye for European integration ever since I annexed Iceland (into Big Food).
And I have been an active player in sourcing at home and abroad for many years. As CEO at M&S I certainly liked to keep my hand in, as members of the lingerie team will fondly remember.
But I hardly need persuade you doyens of the grocery industry of the benefits of close relations in Europe. Shopping at Ocado would be even more expensive if we left the EU! And without the kind of sourcing links that only EU membership can provide, how could we have dealt with the horsemeat scandal we created, so quickly and efficiently? Then of course there’s the potential for international expansion. How would Marc Bolland have been able to open M&S shops in Europe?
At Ocado we’re following his lead. We’re going to be devoting all our profits after tax for the foreseeable future to acquiring a brand new 2CV van in Calais to set up a dotcom operation. And you only need to ask Tesco about the tremendous impact on profits from their Polish and Hungarian operations over the past decade to know that being a member of the EU makes it so much easier to lose money.
Yes, UK retailers have a lot to thank the EU for. Just ask David Potts about the benefits to competitiveness from Aldi and Lidl’s free access to the UK market. At favourable exchange rates too. Now that’s what I call Match & More.
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