Turning Workers into Owners

In the past few weeks a few employees have suddenly found they didn't just work for their company, they owned a bit of it too. The owner and founder of Richer Sounds, Julian Richer, used a special trust to give his 500 staff a 60% stake in the business and a £3.5m handout. Julian Richer, who founded the business in 1978 when he was 19, said the "time was right" to give employees the stake as he had turned 60. Each of the 522 employees will pick up £1,000 for every year at the firm, giving an average payout of £8,000. Some longer serving staff will receive more: 39 have worked for the Hi-fi and TV retailer for more than 20 years, including one who has 40 years' service. Richer Sounds, which has 53 stores, donates 15% of profits to a number of charities and says it is founded on "the ethical principles of being decent, honest and truthful and hopefully [this] runs through everything we do".

Richer Sounds

Flights In Demand

EasyJet's chief executive, Johan Lundgren, has defended his airline's high ticket prices to fly to Madrid for the Champions League final between Tottenham and Liverpool on 1 June. Football fans complained that flights around that date cost £1,000 instead of £250 normally. But Mr Lundgren said the price was higher than average because there had been an "enormous" surge in demand. "That is actually how the system works," he said. Mr Lundgren said 42 million people had flown with the airline over the winter season, with 65% of them paying £50 or less. "The whole pricing picture is very dynamic," he said, adding that at peak booking times, EasyJet could fill a plane in six seconds.If you want to fly from Liverpool to Madrid on 31 May, it will cost you £750 one-way. A typical London-to-Madrid economy fare on British Airways on the morning of 1 June will set you back £709, but that price drops to just £46 for an evening flight - which would get you in too late to see the match.

Flight Prices

Wine Mixup

Lucky diners were accidentally served a £4,500 bottle of red wine at a restaurant. Hawksmoor Manchester said on Twitter it hoped the customers had enjoyed their evening after being given the pricey 2001 bottle of Chateau le Pin Pomerol. The diners ordered a £260 Bordeaux but received the bottle "of the same vintage" which was 17 times the price. A "mortified" staff member who made the error has been urged to keep their "chin up" as "one-off mistakes happen". It was only afterwards that the restaurant's manager realised the mistake, a spokesman said. Hawksmoor's original message sparked a flurry of amused responses, including "we need to go to Manchester" and "bet they wouldn't be able to tell the difference". Others praised restaurant bosses for not "flying off the handle" at the staff member involved. According to the Cult Wines online tasting guide, only 500 cases of the 2001 Chateau le Pin Pomerol were made.
Wine Mix Up

Slave Free Chocolate

Things aren't being shared evenly in the chocolate supply chain. The chain starts with millions of farmers who produce cocoa and ends with the billions of consumers who enjoy chocolate. But what about the bit in the middle? This section is dominated by a handful of chocolate giants that profit from keeping the price of cocoa as low as possible. As a result, farmers are forced to live in poverty. And that leads to child labour and slavery. Right now, slaves are working on cocoa farms in West Africa. Many of them are children. Tony’s Chocolonely exists to change that. Child labour and modern slavery are against the law - it's illegal and it needs to stop. The chocolate bars are unequally divided because, as the company states “it’s strange for a chocolate bar to have equal pieces while the industry is still so unequally divided”. Since it’s initial launch, it has seen successful launches in Germany, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and the US and is now heading to the UK. Would you be willing to pay £2.75 for a bar of slave free chocolate?

Tonys Chocoloney

Google Pixel Price Drop

Google is to sell a range of lower-cost smartphones as part of an effort to jump-start sales of its Pixel brand. The Pixel 3a and larger Pixel 3a XL will cost £399 and £469 respectively, making them roughly half the price of the seven-month-old Pixel 3 originals. Until now, Google had charged one of the highest entry-point prices for an Android handset, with its basic model costing £70 more than Samsung's Galaxy S10e and £40 more than Huawei's P30, and no option to buy a "mid-range" alternative.The new versions share many of the features of the more expensive Pixels, including OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays for rich colours and the firm's much-lauded Night Sight facility, which uses machine-learning based artificial intelligence to enhance images taken in low-light conditions.In addition, they will also provide use of Google's new augmented reality maps, which superimpose arrow graphics over views of the scene ahead. The new phones do, however, include a 3.5mm headphone socket unlike the premium versions. Google shipped close to 20% more Pixel phones over the October-to-March period compared with the same six months the previous year, according to market research firm IDC. However, it still only accounted for a 0.3% share of the global smartphone market, making it the 26th bestselling brand. "The Pixel 3's price-point in the ultra-high-end meant fierce competition from Apple, Huawei and Samsung," commented IDC's Marta Pinto.

Pixel Price Drop

Rihanna Makes Fashion History

Singer Rihanna is to launch a fashion label with French luxury goods group Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH).  The label is called Fenty, after the singer's full name - Robyn Rihanna Fenty, and will launch in Spring 2019.  She will become the first woman of colour to lead a house under the LVMH brand, and the first woman to create an original brand for the group. The singer, who has 70 million followers on Instagram, is widely known for her bold fashion choices. Fenty, which will produce clothing, shoes, and accessories, is the first new label under the LVMH brand since 1987. The label will join around 70 brands already in the LVMH group, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Givenchy. The singer's cosmetics brand, Fenty Beauty, reached nearly 500 million euros (£431 million) in sales by the end of 2018. The brand has been widely praised for its inclusivity.

Fenty

Beyond Meat Shares Sizzle

The US company Beyond Meat - which makes vegan burgers and sausages - has made a stunning share debut on New York's Nasdaq exchange. The price of its shares doubled as trading began, putting a $3bn value on the company. Beyond Meat sells its products across the world and expects a big shift to meat substitutes in the future. Beyond Meat's shares were priced at $25 each at the start of trading, but touched $72 during the trading day before closing at $65.75. Beyond Meat said it has reported losses since it was founded in 2009 due to its investment in "innovation and growth". The business counts actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Bill Gates amongst its backers. 
Beyond Meat

Supermarket With No Tills

Supermarket chain Sainsbury's is trialling its first "till-free" store, in which shoppers do not need to queue for a staffed or self-service checkout. Instead, customers can scan goods with a smartphone and put them straight into a bag. When they have finished shopping, their payment is processed by the phone. The Sainsbury's SmartShop app lets customers scan the contents of their trolley as they browse the aisles to reduce waiting time at the checkout. The app is already available in 68 stores, but customers in one location will now be able to pay with the app too. The trial is currently only available in the Clapham North Sainsbury's Local, to iPhone users who have Apple Pay set up on their device. After finishing their shopping, customers scan a QR code by the store's exit to confirm their purchases. They are then free to leave. The company said the technology would not replace staff in the trial store and that the staffed check-outs would remain open to give customers a choice of how to shop.

Till Free Supermarket

Coca-Cola Mixer

Coca-Cola is launching its first premium mixers under the Coke brand as it looks to expand into growing premium mixer market. Coca-Cola Signature Mixers features four flavours designed to be mixed with dark spirits, which will launch in the UK from June alongside a fully integrated marketing campaign. The move comes as drinkers increasingly opt for more expensive mixers. According to figures from research company CGA, premium mixers are growing at 32.9% compared to the 7% decline seen for mainstream mixers, a trend which is set to continue. The new range, which is available in Smoky, Spicy, Herbal and Woody, was created in collaboration with mixologists and marks the first time Coke has invited outsiders to help develop its own brand. In October 2018 Coca-Cola cemented this change in mind-set with the creation of a Global Ventures group to help scale new brands and identify opportunities as the company looks to reduce its reliance on its core fizzy drink brands - “The moment the pace of change outside the company is higher than inside, then you start to lose.”

Coca Cola Mixer