Word of the Month has got to be Independent. Starting with Glastonbury’s headline act singing out Independent Woman to “All the Honeys who makin’ money” followed swiftly with singing out for Independent Retailer Month with a kick off Independents’ Day raising awareness of the Independent.
Over in the US, Independent labs and specialists, for each aspect of a drug making process, have been used by a man whose managed to bring three drugs to market on his own, using the same process as big drug makers. When the drug starts to succeed in trials, it will be sold on to one of those big drug companies. Also in the US Obama has been making unannounced visits to independent small businesses.
Over here, Government sale of banking assets has begun with Northern Rock, Banks and plc Companies being amongst potential buyers to show an interest, although it’s unlikely the full £1.4 billion will be achieved, leaving NRAM (Northern Rock Asset Managment) retaining control. Ring-fencing proposals were also announced last month for retail banking in a move that no other country has yet made. Meanwhile the major lenders are lobbying the revision of draft legislation which makes the Bank of England, whose policy committee voted to keep interest rates at 0.5% at the same time as senior bank executives are lobbying George Osborne and senior policymakers to revise draft legislation to make the Bank of England more accountable to the businesses it will regulate, and the Big-5 are making an offer to mentor small business.
A Small Independent featured in a shopkeeper story set in New York in which a mission, Store Buyout, was born. The objective of helping out the much respected local shopkeeper was to buy everything in the store before it closed down. On the other end of the scale, a Spanish supermarket has managed double-digit growth throughout the past decade, having started with 8 stores, 30 years ago, it now has 1,310 with annual sales of €16.5 Billion. The economic problems assisted after forceful cost-cutting as explained via Harvard study, highlighting the firm’s approaches to purchasing, product choice, staffing, customers and the boss.
Independent thinking, or lack of it, was paradoxically illustrated in a compare site survey that showed consumers continuing to miss out on savings to their energy bills, insurance premiums and other financial products by staying loyal to their providers of 20 of the most common financial products, including car and home insurance, bank account and mortgage or credit card provider; although premiums have risen. Only 3% of 2,000 surveyed by the compare site with the most irritating ad accolade had considered changing bank accounts. Another compare site who is ditching it’s celebratory endorsers, including an Ex-F1 Driver, X-Factor contestants and an Ex-Deputy Prime Minister, for ‘family man’, suggests in their survey there could be £2.2 Billion savings to be made by current account holders checking their bank accounts and credit cards for interest rates and considering a switch.
(Image and Article credit: Copyright SUF)
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