Comment & opinion – Page 560
-
Comment & Opinion
Is the face in the mirror the person holding you back?
Everyone has a different tipping point when it comes to work-life balance: some need challenging jobs to feel fulfilled, and thrive on long hours; others couldn't cope without six weeks holiday and manage to use up sick days effectively...
-
Comment & Opinion
Letter of the week
The revelation that the Competition Commission is demanding pricing information from major suppliers was great news for wholesalers. This data represents the last piece of the jigsaw that the Commission must have in order...
-
Comment & Opinion
Hot Eats
The Orangery Restaurant at Shottle Hall. The executive chef is Dean Crews, formerly of The Angel and Royal in Lincolnshire. He came on board a year ago to consult on this first restaurant project for property developers Joanne and...
-
Comment & Opinion
Inside track
As in 2006, next year's interior design trends will take their lead from those on the fashion catwalks. Anyone who has been following the glossies will tell you that the result will be plenty of pattern, colour and texture, plus all sorts of...
-
Comment & Opinion
Mourinho's way? I'll take O'Neill's
Sitting and watching Stuart Rose present on M&S' excellent interims this week, it was hard not to notice how much credit he continually gave to the team beneath him. It was quite endearing, but more importantly, enlightening. Chief executives...
-
Comment & Opinion
Ageism laws mean you can literally work till you drop
Just when retailers thought they could file away the legal paperwork and get on with the job of shopkeeping, here come those nice civil servants with a bit more red tape to keep the HR department on its toes. It is now unlawful for employers to...
-
Comment & Opinion
Enjoy rejection. It's the first step to a satisfactory result
An account manager sits down for the annual price negotiation with her category buyer and presents the new list price with an average 2½% price increase across the board. The buyer looks at the list and accepts the changes instantly. After the...
-
Comment & Opinion
This week's hot topic by Richard Clarke
After the fuss caused by the supermarkets' submissions to the Competition Commission, the inquiry team has turned its antennae towards suppliers. The Commission has written to 40 major manufacturers asking for details of the prices they charge...
-
Comment & Opinion
Kwik Save is in the last chance saloon
Last week's announcement of a potential £30m refinancing package for Kwik Save will bring welcome relief to a long-suffering business. It has been a difficult few years for Kwik Save, in its many guises, but refinancing presents it with...
-
Comment & Opinion
Ask not why some food is so dear - ask why it is so cheap
A few years ago we bought a house with a bit of land to try our hand at smallholding. In the preceding few years I had become so distrustful of the food production system that I wanted to have a go at doing it myself. At the time I was ...
-
Comment & Opinion
"The message is clear: let the market be policed by consumers. They can think for themselves, you know"
At last a bit of sense in the pre-watershed 'junk food' advertising row. Ofcom asked consumers what they thought about the mooted ban on HFSS foods. Their response can be summed up in three words: DON'T PATRONISE US. Consumers, even the...
-
Comment & Opinion
Get busy growing or get busy dying. There's no in-between
In my job as a life coach I am lucky enough to meet some very remarkable people. But one thing that is a universal constant is that no matter who you are, rich or poor, young or old, you have the same 24 hours in a day. In Scotland...
-
Comment & Opinion
Work as one for all of us to make a sustainable return
In Tim Lang's column the problems of farming, or more correctly food production, were well explained. Policy makers no longer consider that farming matters. As an industry going back hundreds of years, our...
-
Comment & Opinion
Inside track
The festive season is no time for promising new bands, critically acclaimed singer-songwriters or artists of a more esoteric bent to be releasing records. Christmas means a flood of blockbuster idols and stocking-filler...
-
Comment & Opinion
My Favourite Things Barry Chevallier of Aspall Cyder
Favourite restaurant? The Chateau de Montreuil Hotel near Boulogne, in its own walled garden. The staff are friendly and the food is, without fail, a gastronomic delight. Healthy food or junk food? Healthy, but with the occasional junk...
-
Comment & Opinion
Personal coach Ali Campbell On controlling your state of mind
The right state of mind? There's a question to ask yourself, have you got it or do you only think you have? Is your state of mind responsible for those bad times as well as the good? Those who follow this column will be familiar with...
-
Comment & Opinion
Retailers are boosting Scottish rural economy
With retailers, and especially large food retailers, increasingly under attack, well done to The Grocer for highlighting the very positive role they are playing in boosting the rural economy of Scotland ('Taking to the high ground', 2 September,...
-
Comment & Opinion
Personal coach philip hesketh You're more likely to find success if don't dilute your offering
No. One word, two letters, yet incredibly difficult to say in front of a customer. 'Just say no' may work as a slogan for America's anti-drugs campaign, but it's rarely adopted by businessmen eager to make a sale. After all, the customer is...
-
Comment & Opinion
Second opinion Thriving small stores and markets across the Channel highlight the blandness of Britain's supermarkets, says Joanna Blythman
I can't help feeling depressed at the prospect of returning to the prevailing monotony of British food shopping. On holiday in Normandy, we settled in the port of Honfleur which, like every small French town, bristles with...
-
Comment & Opinion
Local produce must be part of Alnwick solution
It is extremely interesting to note that it is one of our more attractive towns that is the scene of the latest battle for market share between three of the large supermarket companies Alnwick is already...