[Politics] Brexit

[Mo Gosfield]

Not a very good start to the year.

“More than 21,000 UK jobs have been cut or put at risk in the first three months of 2018 as retail store closures, company restructuring and Carillion’s collapse resulted in a bleak quarter.
A Press Association analysis reveals that 21,413 staff have already been made redundant or had their role threatened, most of them at established high-street chains.
Since January, Toys R Us and Maplin have filed for administration, while New Look and Select are closing stores. Last week, the Bargain Booze owner Conviviality said it planned to call in administrators in the next 10 days, with 2,600 jobs at risk. The dining sector has also suffered, with Prezzo, Byron and Jamie’s Italian shutting restaurants and culling hundreds of jobs.
Retailers have been hammered by Brexit-fuelled inflation, soaring business rates and falling consumer confidence.
Supermarket giants have also made deep cuts to shop floor staff, with Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco axing 5,200 roles between them.”

Retailers have also been hammered by on-line shopping, which has more than doubled in sales in the last five years and continues to rise. Toys R Us admitted that their failure to exploit the online market was their ultimate downfall. Have a look at Amazon figures and you will get a truer reflection of what is happening in the market place.
The supermarket cuts reflect streamlining in their larger stores, where they are losing business. All their growth is now in local/convenience stores, which they are continuing to open at a rapid rate. The larger stores need more labour and thats where cuts are being made, principally in security, checkout and admin areas.

 

[nicko31]

Tax payers proping up the car industry. Desperate times.

Already 650 jobs gone at Ellesmere port, they had to stop the rot

 

[Deleted member 22389]

Retailers have also been hammered by on-line shopping, which has more than doubled in sales in the last five years and continues to rise. Toys R Us admitted that their failure to exploit the online market was their ultimate downfall. Have a look at Amazon figures and you will get a truer reflection of what is happening in the market place.
The supermarket cuts reflect streamlining in their larger stores, where they are losing business. All their growth is now in local/convenience stores, which they are continuing to open at a rapid rate. The larger stores need more labour and thats where cuts are being made, principally in security, checkout and admin areas.

We are shopping more and more online these days. Supermarkets will be fine, but I reckon other types of retail will see the biggest hits. If there was a way to support local traders online, with local delivery that would be the way to go.

Apart from our shopping at Lidl, the last thing I bought non food in store was a bulb for the car at Halfords a few weeks ago. Everything else online.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

We are shopping more and more online these days. Supermarkets will be fine, but I reckon other types of retail will see the biggest hits. If there was a way to support local traders online, with local delivery that would be the way to go.

Apart from our shopping at Lidl, the last thing I bought non food in store was a bulb for the car at Halfords a few weeks ago. Everything else online.

You and thousands of others.
Online shopping is decimating the traditional High Street. High rent/rates and difficult/expensive parking doesn't help but online is the single biggest factor. Specialist shops find that a punter will come in, discuss quality of product and price and then go home, shop online and find a cheaper option. All the expertise comes from the retail specialist. All the sales go to the online warehouse.

 

[nicko31]

You and thousands of others.
Online shopping is decimating the traditional High Street. High rent/rates and difficult/expensive parking doesn't help but online is the single biggest factor. Specialist shops find that a punter will come in, discuss quality of product and price and then go home, shop online and find a cheaper option. All the expertise comes from the retail specialist. All the sales go to the online warehouse.

To give the High Street a chance they need to ditch business rates.

 

[larus]

You and thousands of others.
Online shopping is decimating the traditional High Street. High rent/rates and difficult/expensive parking doesn't help but online is the single biggest factor. Specialist shops find that a punter will come in, discuss quality of product and price and then go home, shop online and find a cheaper option. All the expertise comes from the retail specialist. All the sales go to the online warehouse.

To give the High Street a chance they need to ditch business rates.

Very true. At least no one is being dumb enough to link this to Brexit. It's been happening for years.

So, assuming business rates were ditched, this would leave a short-fall in the revenues for councils. So where would this come from?

Personally, I'd like to see on-line sales taxed higher, but this is very difficult in the modern age of cross-border sales.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

To give the High Street a chance they need to ditch business rates.

That wouldn't solve the problem in general though. I can sit in front of the TV with my phone and order almost any product in seconds with a few clicks. Even if abolishing business rates made high street prices say 10% cheaper than online ( and that's a big IF ) I doubt many people would make the effort to visit the high street when it's so easy to order online in the comfort of your own home - no driving, no parking issues, no public transport, and the product comes direct to your door. I certainly would be happy to pay higher prices for that convenience.

 

[5ways]

What relevance does that have to the fact that the German automotive industry is also subsidised by the German government ? Or are they desperate too ?

Germany subsidies German car makers, we subsidies foreign car makers.

 

[5ways]

Very true. At least no one is being dumb enough to link this to Brexit. It's been happening for years.

So, assuming business rates were ditched, this would leave a short-fall in the revenues for councils. So where would this come from?

Personally, I'd like to see on-line sales taxed higher, but this is very difficult in the modern age of cross-border sales.

The answer is more coffee shops.

 

[Two Professors]

Germany subsidies German car makers, we subsidies foreign car makers.

So are the jobs the subsidies are for foreign jobs,or British jobs?

 

[Two Professors]

The answer is more coffee shops.

But they only provide jobs for graduates and unemployed economists.

 

[Hampster Gull]

Germany subsidies German car makers, we subsidies foreign car makers.

Can’t believe the Brextremists are jumping up and down celebrating the government bribing a foreign car manufacture to keep assembling parts in Luton to make a car. Assemble. British taxpayer paying foreign car company to keep a few assembly jobs. #thebrexitfuture

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Can’t believe the Brextremists are jumping up and down celebrating the government bribing a foreign car manufacture to keep assembling parts in Luton to make a car. Assemble. British taxpayer paying foreign car company to keep a few assembly jobs. #thebrexitfuture

Errr ..... because it's always happened. Development grants, reduced tax etc etc etc. So this is investment in British jobs. I know you and your fellow remoaners want the whole of the UK just to collapse so you can go 'Told you so' but it's not happened, isn't happening and won't happen. The UK government are doing EXACTLY what the French and German governments do to protect jobs. I guess you just wish those jobs had gone abroad.

 

[Hampster Gull]

Errr ..... because it's always happened. Development grants, reduced tax etc etc etc. So this is investment in British jobs. I know you and your fellow remoaners want the whole of the UK just to collapse so you can go 'Told you so' but it's not happened, isn't happening and won't happen. The UK government are doing EXACTLY what the French and German governments do to protect jobs. I guess you just wish those jobs had gone abroad.

Don’t tell me what I think, you are not clever enough and don’t have enough insight

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Don’t tell me what I think, you are not clever enough and don’t have enough insight

Ouch .... cutting

So go on then, what do you think about the UK government protecting UK jobs exactly the same way they always have and exactly the same way that other governments do ?

 

[Hampster Gull]

Ouch .... cutting

 

[Westdene Seagull]

So you have no intelligent answer then ? Glad we cleared that up.

 

[Two Professors]

Can’t believe the Brextremists are jumping up and down celebrating the government bribing a foreign car manufacture to keep assembling parts in Luton to make a car. Assemble. British taxpayer paying foreign car company to keep a few assembly jobs. #thebrexitfuture

Funny looking car.Is it a Eurozone one?

 

[Hampster Gull]

So you have no intelligent answer then ? Glad we cleared that up.

Wow, so cutting...

 

[Two Professors]

Don’t tell me what I think, you are not clever enough and don’t have enough insight

Just seen your x-ray.Think the Hampster might be more intelligent.