Greggs to Shut Four Factories

High street bakery brand Greggs has announced plans to shut four of its factories and cut 740 jobs. It plans to close manufacturing sites at North Lakes near Penrith, Cumbria, Pettigrews in Kelso, Scotland, Seaham in County Durham and Enfield, Greater London, though distribution operations would continue to run from the latter. The chain, which has headquarters in Newcastle, said its retail shops would not be affected by the proposed changes and like-for-like sales had grown across its managed stores. It said the plans would save it about £20m across the 2028 and 2029 financial years. The changes would take place over the next two and a half years, with parts of Greggs' manufacturing processes relocating, the firm said. The range of products manufactured at its Clydesmill Glasgow and Manchester locations would be reduced and production of tinned bread at Gosforth would be stopped. Some products would also be sourced from specialist suppliers. The firm employs 33,000 people in the UK, the majority working in its stores. The shake-up is expected to cost the firm about £60m, including disruption costs and redundancy payments. Greggs opened 95 new shops and closed 38 in the year to date, taking its overall estate to 2,796 shops.

BBQ - Why do you think Greggs have closed these factories?

Greggs

Vape Tax Comes Into Force

 

The price of vapes is set to rise as a new tax comes into effect, with the aim of making vaping less attractive to children and young people. The Vaping Product Duty will be imposed at a rate of £2.20 per 10ml of e-liquid. However, many customers will not see a jump in prices immediately, as sellers have six months to sell old stock at the pre-duty price. The government wants to reduce the appeal of vapes by making them more expensive, as more evidence of its adverse effect on health comes out, particularly on children and young people. The vaping industry has lobbied against the new tax, saying that affordable vapes help people to quit smoking. The duty will apply to all vaping products regardless of whether they contain nicotine. HMRC is also launching a stamp for vaping products which are traceable throughout the supply chain. All vapes sold in the UK must carry this stamp from April. John Dunne, the director general of the UK Vaping Industry Association, said: "This is nothing short of a tax on public health." He said vapes had helped "millions of adults cut down on or stop smoking". Experts say vaping is much safer than smoking, but it is not risk free and the long-term effects are less clear. The NHS has said that children and non-smokers should never vape.

BBQ - What impact will this have on Vape manufacturers?

Vape Tax

Nike Loosing Ground

 

It's been a difficult few years for Nike. The largest sportswear brand on the planet, named after the ancient Greek goddess of victory, has been losing of late. Losing sales, losing customers and losing ground to its rivals. The one-time industry disruptor is now the establishment and in the middle of a tricky turnaround plan aimed at clinging on to market dominance. Nike's latest financial results show signs a turnaround strategy is working however, its recovery has been dented by the loss of football star Kylian Mbappé, who ended his 20-year association with the brand last week to join fast-growing Swiss rival, On. To be clear, Nike is still a mega brand and popular the world over. But missteps have seen hundreds of billions of dollars wiped off its stock market value as its share price tumbled by 75% over five years. Matt Powell, a veteran analyst and adviser in the sports retail industry, reckons Nike has made "several strategic errors" which have been difficult to reverse, including cutting ties with retailers to sell only direct to customers online and making limited editions items more available. Other self-inflicted wounds he suggests include spending research and development cash on digital operations rather than new products. As demand weakened overseas in key markets like China, Nike announced cost cuts and redundancies. Its digital distraction allowed newer footwear firms on top of the trends to snap at its heels. Shop shelf space previously occupied by Nike was replaced by brands such as On and Hoka. This was a stark warning to a company that prided and built itself on innovation.

BBQ - Do you think Nike has lost market power?

Nike