Wendy's Returns

America's second largest burger chain is returning to the UK after 20 years with a promise to steal market share from rivals McDonald's and Burger King. Wendy's, famous for square burgers, plans up to 400 outlets nationwide creating at least 12,000 jobs, although that could take many years, it said.  Wendy's would still be far smaller than McDonald's, which has 1,300 UK outlets. A statement said: "The UK launch will spearhead a European-wide expansion as Wendy's looks to build on strong growth on the other side of the Atlantic, where the brand last year dethroned Burger King to become the No 2 player in the US hamburger market." A typical restaurant employs between 30 to 50 staff, the company said. Wendy's has also promised no zero-hours contracts in a sector much-criticised for its low pay and working conditions. The first Wendy's will open next month, in Reading, followed by Stratford and Oxford, and the company said there will be new items on the menu tailored to the British market, including more vegetarian options. Wendy's said that even if the UK market does not expand as fast as anticipated, it still believes it can take market share from rivals by its emphasis on quality and service. The chain's marketing likes to promote its use of locally sourced products and fresh meat that is not frozen. The chain was founded in 1969 in Ohio and now has 6,800 outlets. It is listed on Wall Street with a valuation of $5bn (£3.6bn). Wendy's left the UK in 2001, citing property costs and other overheads that made expansion unviable.

Wendys Return

Your Colleagues Decide Your Salary

A software firm is taking a radical approach to how it treats employees. 10Pines tries to be transparent and democratic, even allowing staff to set each other's salaries. Ariel Umansky decided to turn down his proposed 7% pay rise in December 2020. He felt he could not justify it in front of his colleagues. In fact it was the second time in five years that he'd declined a raise at 10Pines. Salaries are decided three times a year at the Argentinian company's "rates meeting", which includes everyone except new hires still on probation. Employees (or mentors on their behalf) can put themselves forward for a raise, which is then openly debated. Every year 50% of its profits are shared among staff. 10Pines aspires to have a flat hierarchy, and be transparent with employees, as much as possible. After a three-month trial period, new staff join the rest of the team in monthly, open meetings in which key company decisions are decided, such as potential new clients, expenses, company finances - and of course salaries.  There's no overall CEO and no real managers within teams, though there are senior figures who are partners, known as "associates" and "masters".

Salary

Nestle Shut Newcastle Factory

 

Nestle has announced plans to cut almost 600 jobs and close a confectionery factory in Newcastle. The world's largest food company wants to close its site in Fawdon by the end of 2023 and focus production on factories in York and Halifax. It said 573 jobs would be "put at risk" by the changes. The GMB and Unite unions said 475 jobs would be lost at Fawdon, where Fruit Pastilles are made, and 98 at the York factory, which produces Kitts. Nestle said it would invest £20m into the York facility to "increase production of KitKat in the city where the brand was first created in 1935". The Fawdon factory opened in 1958 and currently produces 15 brands including Fruit Pastilles, Matchmakers and Rolos. "We do not underestimate the impact that the closure of Fawdon factory would have on the local area and, as part of the consultation, we want to work with the local community to find ways that we can support the area and our employees if these proposals were to go ahead," Nestle said. "We believe that the business case behind these proposed changes is compelling and, ultimately, the best way to keep our business competitive in the long term." Councillors have asked the prime minister to help stop the closure or, failing that, provide investment to offset the economic damage. Unions have branded the closure "corporate greed at its worst", while local Labour leaders have vowed to try to save the plant. Newcastle City Council Labour leader Nick Forbes said: "The fight to save Nestle isn't over yet."

Nestle

Pre-Loved at Asda

Supermarket chain Asda is to start selling second-hand clothes in 50 of its stores across the UK. The retailer said the concept had already been successfully tried out at a store in Leeds, and it now plans to stock the used garments more widely. For the venture, the George at Asda brand has joined forces with specialist wholesaler Preloved Vintage Kilo. The move comes after Asda launched a scheme encouraging customers to take unwanted clothes back to stores. Asda said the latest scheme would "give a new lease of life" to pre-worn garments. It would enable customers to "buy vintage, retro and second-hand branded pieces, preventing thousands of tonnes of garments going to landfill each year". Asda is the UK's third biggest supermarket chain with 632 stores. In February it was sold for £6.8bn to the Issa brothers, two entrepreneurs from Blackburn, and the investment firm TDR Capital. Preloved Vintage managing director Steve Lynam said the company had prevented more than 800 tonnes of clothing ending up in landfill and that linking with Asda would increase that "dramatically". The issue of sustainable fashion has been embraced by a number of retailers in recent years. Several companies take back second-hand clothes, including Asda, Primark and M&S, which have recycling scheme which allow customers to return used items in stores.

Asda Clothes

Trainer Authentication

The trainer resale market is a billion dollar business, with the most sought-after shoes being bought and resold online for a huge profit. To crackdown on counterfeits, eBay is launching a scheme to authenticate high-value trainers sold on its platform in the UK. The programme is already up and running in the US, but it’s now being extended in the UK with the opening of a warehouse dedicated entirely to inspecting the most expensive trainers being traded. A stock market for trainers that allows people to buy and sell shoes using real-time data is expanding into Asia. Asia is one of the fastest growing regions for StockX, a US tech firm that set up the shoe exchange.Since its launch in 2016 the platform has grown rapidly and now has 115,000 products listed and close to 1,000 staff globally.

Trainers

Hair by Amazon

Amazon has announced a surprise move into the world of hairdressing with the opening of a hi-tech hair salon in London that boasts special mirrors able to show customers how they would look with a different hair colour before they take the plunge. With its promise to showcase the latest in cutting edge technology, the Amazon Salon in Spitalfields, east London, could consign hair dye swatch books to the dustbin of history with its augmented reality mirrors. As well as experimenting with virtual looks, clients will be able to pass time scrolling through magazines loaded on tablets placed at each “styling station”. Amazon is leaving the haircuts and highlights to the professionals with the salon manned by Neville Hair & Beauty, an independent salon based in the capital. The permanent salon will initially be road-tested by Amazon staff ahead of opening up to the public for appointments “in the coming weeks”. A price list has yet to be released but Amazon Salon will offer a “full range of hairdressing services” including highlights, treatments and braids, it said. The salon is being billed by Amazon as an “experiential venue” to show off new products and technology and, as yet anyway, there are no current plans for any others. The move comes after the e-commerce giant launched a professional beauty section on its website, selling 10,000 products ranging from clippers to curlers and hair dryers, aimed at the small businesses which have only recently been allowed to reopen as lockdown restrictions are eased.

Hair By Amazon

Netflix Boom Over

Video-streaming giant Netflix has reported a slowdown in subscriber growth, sending its shares tumbling. About 3.98 million people signed up for Netflix between January and March, well short of the projected 6 million. The company said a lack of new shows may have contributed to the shortfall, adding that it expected this to recover as sequels to hit shows are released. Netflix shares fell 11% in after-hours trading to $489.28, wiping $25bn off the company's market capitalization.The streaming service added 15.8 million new subscribers last year as Covid-19 forced people around the world to stay home. Much of that growth came in Asia, where Netflix added 9.3 million new subscribers in 2020, an increase of about 65% over the previous year. But the pandemic has proven a double-edged sword for Netflix, because it also disrupted its production pipeline.The company projected poor customer growth ahead, with an additional 1 million new streaming customers in the second quarter, far short of the previously predicted 5 million. Netflix also faces increasingly stiff competition from new streaming services entering the market. Disney+, a much newer streaming service, already has 100 million subscribers, compared with Netflix's 207.6 million.Even with sluggish customer growth, Netflix has reported revenues of $7.16bn and net income of $1.71bn. Netflix predicted stronger growth in the second half of the year when it releases new seasons of "You," "Money Heist," "The Witcher" and action movie "Red Notice," among other titles.

 Netflix Slump